MCLC: HK scandal raises fears

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: HK scandal raises fears
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (3/5/12):
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/world/asia/hong-kong-election-raises-fear
s-about-china.html

Scandals in Hong Kong Raise Fears About China
By KEVIN DREW

HONG KONG ‹ A string of scandals involving both the current leader of Hong
Kong and those vying to succeed him is threatening to stain what many
residents here consider a source of pride: a city largely free of
corruption.

The accusations confronting Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong
Kong, and two of the candidates underscore deep-seated fears that a small
circle of tycoons has come to dominate the top levels of government almost
15 years after this former British colony reverted to Chinese rule. Many
worry that the city¹s tradition of transparent rule of law may be giving
way to how business and politics are conducted in mainland China.

³This may be the accepted practice in China, but it¹s not permitted in
Hong Kong,² Fung Chi-wood, an Anglican pastor and former legislator, said
of local news reports that Mr. Tsang accepted favors like rides on yachts
and jets and negotiated a below-market rate for a luxury apartment from
wealthy businessmen. Mr. Fung was among thousands of people who
demonstrated last weekend against the influence of the rich in local
government. ³We are afraid our standards are becoming lower,² he said.

The scandals also point to what analysts say is the driving issue in the
March 25 election: Hong Kong¹s relationship with the mainland. Residents
are asking whether the integration that has taken place since 1997, making
the city more prosperous than before, may also be diminishing the
territory¹s quality of life.

Tensions between Hong Kong residents and visitors from the mainland are
feeding tabloid headlines and social media, and more people are taking to
the streets to protest a widening wealth gap.

In the background is a nagging worry that a direct election of the chief
executive, long promised for Hong Kong, will never arrive. The chief
executive is chosen not by direct votes of residents but by a committee,
most of whose 1,200 members represent interests like financial services
and tourism.

³The people fear that Hong Kong will become just another Chinese city,²
said Hung Ho-fung, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore. ³Few things scare Hong Kong residents as much as that.²

Certainly, Hong Kong and mainland China have become closer since the end
of British rule. The proportion of ethnic Chinese has inched up, the
number of mainland students enrolled in Hong Kong universities has
increased and Mandarin has overtaken English as the second most spoken
language. Cantonese remains in first place.

By several international measures, Hong Kong remains a model. Its mass
transit system is held up as an example of smart urban planning.
Teenagers¹ academic scores compare favorably with those of students
elsewhere, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. In the World Competitiveness Yearbook, a ranking using
criteria like economic performance, efficiency and corruption, Hong Kong
and the United States are tied for first place.

But some analysts see troubling signs in the closeness to the mainland,
with the International Federation of Journalists saying that the local
news media came under unprecedented attack by the authorities last year.

³In the second half of 2011, journalists in Hong Kong experienced the
biggest restriction from the local government since the 1997 handover,²
the group said in a report, citing cases of journalists being detained and
arrested.

The candidates most widely expected to become the next chief executive,
Henry Tang and C.Y. Leung, are considered acceptable choices by Beijing.
Still, Mr. Tang has admitted to building a vast, unlicensed basement.
Local news media reported it was to contain features like a wine cellar
and a Japanese-style bath, though Mr. Tang insists it was for storage. And
Mr. Leung faces conflict-of-interest accusations for his involvement in
the development of a cultural arts complex being built in Hong Kong.

But traditional corruption, like payoffs to the police or government
officials, is relatively low in Hong Kong, on par with Western
governments, said David Webb, who runs a Web site that tracks corruption.
Instead, he said, a ³structural collusion² exists in Hong Kong because of
the system of choosing the chief executive. The election committee is
heavily weighted with business people who, eager to maintain access to
mainland markets, are seen to take voting cues from Beijing.

Mainland enterprises now account for 55 percent of the listings on the
Hong Kong stock exchange, and about half of the city¹s trade is with the
mainland. The links are now so strong that economists warn that a slowdown
in China¹s growth poses the greatest threat to Hong Kong.

³The system itself inserted special interests into the method of picking
the chief executive; it makes the chief executive susceptible to special
interests,² said Ma Ngok, an associate professor at the Chinese University
of Hong Kong. Mr. Ma called Hong Kong¹s economy more ³monopolous² than it
was under British rule, as property developers buy land, build high-rises
and install in them retail outlets owned by the developers.

The effect of a business-dominated government has spilled into other
issues. In a January report, the local research organization Civic
Exchange said Hong Kong¹s air pollution had become so severe that it
threatened public health, the city¹s attractiveness as a place of business
and even crucial public works projects, like building a third airport
runway. A political disconnect with public concerns is one reason
pollution had not been addressed effectively, the group said.

The recent political scandals are likely to feed public pressure for a
direct election of the chief executive in the subsequent election year,
2017. But devising a plan that will satisfy the public while reassuring
business leaders and Beijing will be difficult. In 2007, the central
government in Beijing said the chief executive could be directly elected
in 2017, but it did not guarantee such elections would take place, a point
not lost on most Hong Kong residents.

³I don¹t think it will ever happen,² said Connie Cheung, a participant in
the demonstration last weekend. ³I just don¹t think Beijing will let us
directly vote for our leaders.²

Despite the scandals, analysts say the rule of law remains intact and that
it was a free and diverse press that reported the accusations of
impropriety by public officials.

³Hong Kong always takes care of its business, no matter who runs it,² said
Michael Davis, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Apple Lam contributed reporting from Hong Kong.