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The sway of Big Business reaches right to the top

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Political scandals in this city have finally reached the very top. The recent expose of dealings between Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and some business tycoons have left many citizens gasping.

To a lot of people, the term 'government-business collusion' was previously just a feeling, a suspicion, a conspiracy theory - and perhaps very few actually believed it to be true. These stories now at least serve as prima facie evidence; Tsang has been caught with his pants down.

At the time of writing, the scandals are still brewing, our citizens are beginning to feel angry after the initial shock, and our politicians are now pushing for an investigation using their prerogative granted by the Powers and Privileges Ordinance. The Independent Commission Against Corruption is looking into the matter, though, in this case, it is supposed to report to the subject of its investigation. The whole city has been turned upside down.

Most of us believe Hong Kong is very clean, and this proud image is time and again reinforced by external evaluations and international rankings. We apparently have incorruptible judges, vocal dissident lawmakers, a free and juicy media, and citizens who will take to the street at the slightest provocation. It would seem simply inconceivable that our government is corrupt from the top down.

Now that most people know vaguely what has been happening, the next question is, 'why?' The answer may take a full-scale investigation, but I can offer here a preliminary hypothesis that can perhaps explain a major part of the mess.

The crux of the matter is that our business is getting too big. The handful of property conglomerates control practically everything any citizen needs in his or her daily life. Their combined turnover is astronomical and the taxes and charges generated from their business activities form a major part of government revenue.

Whether we like it or not, Big Business has in fact formed a de facto partnership with the government. And because it has the power to bestow benefits on our officials personally, one way or another, Big Business is in fact the senior partner.

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