Lam Hits Out at Leung's Housing Plan

Lam (centre) was on a radio show today blasting Leung's plan

The knives are out between former chief executive Leung Chun-ying and incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

Leung, a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, recently re-pitched his idea of building flats on the edge of country parks much to the horror of environmentalists, but to be honest, her idea of building a series of giant artificial islands attached to Lantau is just as terrifying.

Will Leung and Lam battle for the CE job?

On a radio show today, Lam took a shot at Leung, saying if his idea of building those flats was so good, it would have been done long ago. She said the government has strong reservations about such a "controversial proposal".

"Frankly, if developing the edges of country parts is so attractive and easy, the government would've done it long ago. The last administration wouldn't have waited until the final months of its term to bring up the idea," she said.

"I was already away from the government at the time, I had resigned [to run for CE]."

She said developing the peripheries of country parks would take quite some time, so her administration has gone with other options.

Lantau Tomorrow Vision is environmental crisis

Like her Lantau Tomorrow Vision is a better idea?

The plan is to construct artificial islands that will create 1,700 hectares of land through massive reclamation and is expected to cost HK$500 billion (US$63.8 billion) -- amounting to half the government's coffers and serious environmental concerns.

Both Leung and Lam have terrible ideas of how to create more land for housing when they have not even exhausted other possibilities for land redevelopment such as brown sites dotted all over the city. While they are not giant swathes of land, they are empty or vacant nonetheless and why not use them?

Liaison Director's Delayed Response

Luo Huining says troublemakers are the virus, but they won't succeed

Hong Kong's new liaison director Luo Huining has hit out at Hong Kong's healthcare workers for going on strike.

He criticized them for striking to demand the closure of all borders with the mainland, saying such action was a "political form of coronavirus".

Earlier this month healthcare workers went on strike

"What we need to do is isolate the virus, not people's hearts," he wrote in a letter to Hong Kong delegates of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Luo also said a minority of people in Hong Kong were creating all kinds of conflicts, and the hospital staff held their "strike to save Hong Kong" for political gain.

He said people who try to take advantage of the current situation to "spread dissatisfaction" and deliberately undermine relations between Hong Kong and the mainland will not succeed.

"More and more Hong Kong people would agree, no one is an island, and Hong Kong shouldn't become and island," he said.

Strikers demanded all borders be closed to contain the virus

First of all it's bizarre that Luo spoke out now about the five-day strike that happened on February 3-7. Why is he condemning the healthcare workers now? Either his superiors took too long to approve his letter, or he only decided now to say something.

Either way it's late and if he wasn't aware, the strike didn't amount to much since the local government ignored them so the healthcare workers voted to go back to work. End of story.

Talk about not striking while the iron is hot.

Secondly, Luo is the one making the push for border closings political. Most Hongkongers are not separatists, they accept that the city is a part of China. But for the past month when the coronavirus is blind to boundaries is spreading over the region, and it was suggested strongly by infectious disease experts to close all borders as soon as possible, closing the border would only be temporary.

How about gaining good will by supplying masks to HK?

That didn't happen, as three border crossings are still open, so now we have 67 cases in Hong Kong and two deaths as of yesterday.

With a lame duck local government, it would be more politically savvy for the liaison office to ensure a good supply of masks and protective equipment to healthcare workers.

Because after all, we are part of the motherland, right?

CY Leung Rises up Beijing Ranks

CY Leung walks to the rostrum after being elected vice-chairman to CPPCC

Beijing welcomed its favourite son to the fold, with Hong Kong Chief Executive elected as a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference today.

In a vote, 2,066 voted in favour to appoint him as vice-chairman, 13 against, and six abstaining. Six delegates did not vote. Wonder who those 19 people are...

After the formal closing of the plenum, President Xi Jinping strode over to shake Leung's hand, followed by Premier Li Keqiang.

Afterwards Leung is congratulated by Xi Jinping

Reports say Leung looked tense as he bowed to the audience and bowed to state leaders and the standing committee of the CPPCC.

He becomes the first chief executive to hold two roles simultaneously, though his first job will end at the end of June when he steps down as CE.

It is believed Leung got the vice-chairman gig as a big thank you from Beijing for curbing pro-independence forces in Hong Kong, but really their numbers are minuscule. He must have really frightened them to be awarded such an honorary post.

However being a vice-chairman of the CPPCC isn't going to land him big bucks -- he will make HK$12,000 a month.

But he won't necessarily be immune from investigation or prosecution. Between 2012 and 2013, Leung received HK$50 million from a deal between his former company DTZ and Australian firm UGL.

The position didn't protect Su Rong from prosecution

Leung says he formally resigned from the position of director from insolvent property firm DTZ on November 24, 2011, and ceased to be a director when he signed a "non-compete and non-poach" agreement with UGL, which bought DTZ in early December that year.

But we have seen former CPPCC vice-chairman Su Rong get in trouble with the law. A year after his appointment to the senior leadership position, in March 2013, Su was probed for bribery.

In January this year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for taking bribes upwards of 116 million yuan.

Elections with Chinese Characteristics

It is expected Carrie Lam will win the election, but by how many votes?

Beijing seems to be fretting over the "election" of the next chief executive of Hong Kong, because it is worried that its preferred candidate Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor may not have an outright win.

According to an anonymous source who is a local member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who has met with senior leaders in Beijing, said they are concerned that their lobbying for Lam may have a negative impact on her.

John Tsang is giving Lam a run for her money, and Beijing too

Last week Lam also voiced concern for Beijing outright lobbying for her, saying she would discreetly tell them not to do it, knowing it could affect her votes as well as the public's perception of her.

The anonymous source said Lam may have trouble governing effectively because her rival John Tsang Chun-wah has greater popularity with the public than her. "But they [Beijing] said they have no choice under current circumstances", the source said.

These revelations behind the scenes show how desperate Beijing is to orchestrate the election, but yet Tsang seems to be throwing a spanner in the works which is interesting.

But why is Beijing so worried?

Its preferred candidate will win -- she already garnered 579 nominations, way more than both Tsang (159) and Woo Kwok-hing (180).

Woo Kwok-hing is popular with locals as well as Tsang

How about worrying about how she is going to persuade the public in televised debates how she is going to represent the average person, and stand up for Hong Kong's interests? That's what people care about, and Woo and Tsang already focused on getting the popular vote as a vital part of their strategy. They didn't have the guanxi, but they have local appeal. Lam has the opposite.

Lam may not win on the first ballot, but she will definitely on the second.

For Beijing to worry so much about this reveals how it cannot even deal with democracy at all. No wonder they keep delaying it!

Going Through the Motions

Li Keqiang (right) checks out the site of the explosion earlier today

The number of dead in the Tianjin explosions has now reached 112, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang finally made a visit to the site today, though Xinhua only gave a brief summary of what he would do: visit firefighters, rescuers and those injured.

"He will also direct further rescue operations and treatment of the injured, as well as handling of the aftermath and production safety," the report said.

So... does Li have experience in dealing with chemical explosions and have medical knowledge in how to treat victims who were injured in the blasts on Wednesday night?

Surely he should really be deferring to experts in the field? Or do these rescuers and medical staff not know what to do, or must wait for his signal before going ahead?

These phrases seem so anachronistic, but they are brought out each time a disaster happens and a senior Chinese officials dutifully goes to inspect the site.

Meanwhile Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote instructions that the Tianjin blasts and a string of serious accidents exposed severe problems in the work safety sector, and the authorities must always keep "safe development" and "people's interest first" in mind to avoid such accidents.

These seem quite obvious, but surely an investigation needs to take place before such vague statements can be made?

Work safety has never been much of a priority for China, and all of a sudden it is on the President's mind.

Will this accident finally give work safety the attention it sorely needs? Or is this just another stock phrase to show the government is concerned?

But many Chinese citizens are not buying it, particularly those who are related to the victims of the disaster, or living in the port city near Beijing.

Some have joked that the air was too toxic until Sunday for Chinese leaders to breathe, despite local officials saying the air was fine, and adding no emergency crews were ill from chemical contamination.

They are racing against time before it next rain to contain the at least 100 tonnes of sodium cyanide at the site that can create noxious gases if reacted with water. That could not be a more stressful task.

And online censors are trying to control heated criticisms of the government and its handling of the disaster, calling it "a real life Pinocchio" in hashtags, and demanding the truth of what is really going on.

At press conferences, Chinese officials are unable to answer a lot of questions posed by journalists, only replying with "let me check" or "next question". Hardly gives anyone much confidence in the authorities.

Interestingly, the day of the blasts coincide with the 1,000th day of Xi's ascent to power, and hint that perhaps this Tianjin incident was the beginning of his end.

But we shall see how much punishment and blame goes around: access to public registries have been blocked, though the National Enterprises Credit and Information System revealed information about Ruihai International, the company that owns the exploded warehouse.

The chairman is listed as Li Liang, that overseas Chinese media have identified as the nephew of Li Ruihuan, a Tianjin-born former Politburo member and chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference.

Considering much has been covered up, Li and his nephew have pretty good guanxi so far...

The Vilification Begins

Ling Jihua now faces a string of possible corruption charges

Former Chinese President Hu Jintao's one-time top aide Ling Jihua is now being used for target practice by state media, as he was recently formally arrested and stripped of his Communist Party membership.

The 58-year-old is being prosecuted for alleged corruption, violating political rules, organizational discipline and failing to protect secrets of the Party and state.

An investigation into Ling already began in December, but now the Supreme People's Procuratorate will launch a criminal investigation into corruption allegations.

According to Xinhua, Ling apparently took large bribes and sought profits for his close friends and associates. He was also accused of illegally acquiring a large amount of "core secrets" of the Party and state.

However, as Hu's top aide, he would have access to confidential information, so it is unclear what this allegation means.

Xinhua also added Ling allegedly sought benefits for his wife, and that he traded his power for sex and had extramarital affairs with several women.

Nationalist paper Global Times was the most severe of the state media outlets, chastising Ling for destroying himself because of his hunger for power and greed.

His son's car crash that Ling tried to cover up

"The case of Ling is not simply about law and order violations, but also the unrestrained growth of greed and ambition of an elite and powerful person, which leads to distorted behaviour," the editorial said.

The Global Times added Ling ignored the power and influence of the internet, perhaps referring to the March 2012 car accident in which his son Ling Gu and two female passengers died in a Ferrari that crashed on one of Beijing's ring roads.

Ling Jihua tried to cover up the accident, getting special forces to take care of the incident instead of the police, and trying to scrub evidence from the internet, but was eventually found out, along with arranging for his other alleged misdeeds.

"He seemed to strongly believe that his power could enable him to 'cover the sky with one hand' [fool the public], however... he didn't realize that he was under close scrutiny," the editorial said. "He wasn't punished initially simply because it wasn't the appropriate time."

That's because his boss, Hu was going to step down later that year and perhaps the Party thought it would be too much attention focused on Ling when it should be on incoming President Xi Jinping.

As a result, Ling lost his chance to climb the upper echelons of power, and instead was relegated to a non important position with the long title of vice chairman of the national committee of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, and head of the United Front Work Department.

At this point Ling can only go further into free fall if state media are given the green light to tar him further.

Having been expelled makes him completely vulnerable and his former boss cannot help him at all, nor would Hu want to be associated with him anymore.

It's a sad ending for a guy who tried to rise to the top by hitching a ride with his boss who was president of China. Too bad Ling's son smashed up his luxury sports car, ending his own political chances, otherwise Ling's destiny would be very different today.

Comic Lacks Political Chops

Tsang resigned from the Jiangmen provincial CPPCC today

When you're appointed to become a delegate of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, it's not something to be taken lightly.

While card-carrying Communists who have proven their worth are usually invited into this elite group that gives suggestions to the Central government in the hopes that they will be made into policy, there are others who get conferred these titles by merit of their celebrity status.

Such is the case with Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang Chi-wai, who was appointed a delegate of the Jiangmen provincial CPPCC in January 2011.

But mainland Chinese media have criticized him in the last few days for failing to show up at the annual political consultative conference in Jiangmen for the fifth consecutive year. He also didn't submit any consultation proposals, according to the Southern Metropolis News.

China Youth Daily also chimed in with an editorial, urging Tsang to step down.

"To some celebrities, a local political consultative conference title is just an additional feature to them and they might not [take] it seriously. Delegate Zeng has never fulfilled his duty... and served as a poor example," the commentary said. "Those who cannot fulfill the duties should either resign or be sacked," it added.

And so today Tsang followed the editorial and resigned. "I am very sorry," he said, according to Hong Kong media. "As a delegate on both the Guangzhou and Jiangmen political consultative conferences, I could only attend the one in Guangzhou because the dates of the two annual assemblies clashed.

"I have already telephoned Jiangmen Political Consultative Conference to announce my resignation."

Despite the embarrassment, Tsang must be breathing a sigh of relief with having one responsibility taken off his shoulders.

But why was he appointed to two CPPCCs and what made him a suitable candidate to be chosen to join in the first place?

This is a similar situation to former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang who is a member of the national committee of the CPPCC. He attended the annual session at the last minute after public criticism of him not showing up for two years.

He had to cut short his medical treatment in the United States to fly back to Beijing two days before the session ended, and apologized for his absence.

Athletes and celebrities may be too busy to think about recommendations to the central government, let alone be qualified, unless they really are advocates in their respective communities.

Let's not forget Tsang resigned as chair of the Hong Kong Performing Artist Guild in October 2013 after he was criticized for not speaking up on behalf of fellow actors on the television license issue.

Politics is clearly not in Tsang's blood. Let him continue cracking jokes instead on the stage where he belongs.

Tung's Charm Offensive

Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa did his best to sugar-coat the situation

Beijing is now on the charm offensive, trying to soften the blow of Sunday's news to Hong Kong people by trotting out former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa out earlier today.

He gave his first press conference for the first time since he stepped down from office in 2005, looking a lot older, but wielding more power now that he is vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Tung claimed he understood the pan-democrats' disappointment and anger in the National People's Congress Standing Committee's tough guidelines on how candidates for the next election for chief executive will be chosen for 2017.

"I understand how they feel. I understand how deeply and strongly felt those emotions are," he said.

Does he really? Then why does he support the decision to have 1,200 people picked by Beijing to choose the candidates, who must have at least 50 percent of the nominating committee's vote?

It is interesting to note that in 1996 he was chosen by a panel of only 400 members, whereas in 2012 current Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was voted in by 689 out of 1,132 people.

In addition, Tung remarked that from 1997 to 2017 -- "a short time of 20 years" -- Hong Kong has gone from a governor who was parachuted in to 5 million being eligible to vote.

"From 2017 onwards the people of Hong Kong will elect the chief executive by universal suffrage, fulfilling the collective aspiration of Hong Kong," he said.

"Today, on the eve of Hong Kong's crucial development in our long history, on the verge of our going for the biggest political leap, how can we possibly choose to stand still? How can we let our march towards democracy stop and stall? We cannot," he said.

But we still can't nominate the candidates so how is that universal suffrage according to international norms?

"I appeal to people of all political stripes to come together and turn negative sentiments into positive energy. Hand in hand, we will build a sound electoral arrangement on the basis of the foundation laid down by the NPC," he added.

Grandpa Tung even has the gall to say: "Five million voters personally picking their leader... is democracy, real and substantial".

He is obviously doing his best to sugar-coat the situation, but we all know he is speaking in half truths in the hopes of getting greater consensus on this. But Tung already said he was opposed to Occupy Central, so he is not offering any other suggestions on how people can make their voices heard, or other avenues for negotiation.

Tung is hardly the voice of reason, but the voice of propaganda... does he really have Hong Kong's interests at heart?