Hong Kong’s next leader may already have emerged – if we take a Hollywood classic as a guide

Albert Cheng says with C.Y. Leung having little chance of a second term, ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ complement of likely chief executive hopefuls already has a front runner

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Financial Secretary John Tsang attend a news conference earlier this month. If President Xi Jinping and his camp were in favour of the so-called “tough as steel” Leung, the chief executive would have tossed his hat in the ring long ago. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:45pm, 17 Nov 2016Updated: 9:41am, 15 Dec 2016

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, the classic movie starring Clint Eastwood, best describes the potential candidates who will make their debut in the upcoming farcical small-circle election for the next chief executive.

I have discounted incumbent Leung Chun-ying, as his chance of securing a second term is minimal. If President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) and his camp were in favour of the so-called “tough as steel” Leung who tackles the opposition roughly, the chief executive would have tossed his hat in the ring long ago.

Under the unfair electoral system, people with no vote can only hope for the lesser of the evils to win through

Indeed, if the central government had given Leung the green light, as it did his predecessors Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen in their time, no other pro-Beijing individual would have expressed their interest in competing with the “chosen one”.

Since former judge Woo Kwok-hing declared his candidacy, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, Executive Council member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have intentionally or unintentionally, subtly or explicitly, indicated that they would consider joining the race. Leung is the only one who has not spilled the beans yet. The three runners-to-be – Tsang, Ip and Lam – seem a perfect fit for “the good, the bad and the ugly” roles respectively.

It is plain as day that the man of humour and charm, Tsang, is “the good” in the eyes of the majority of Hongkongers. Indeed, one does not have to be astoundingly capable to win people’s hearts, especially when a rival is the hated Leung.

Hong Kong’s next leader may already have emerged – if we take a Hollywood classic as a guide

Albert Cheng says with C.Y. Leung having little chance of a second term, ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ complement of likely chief executive hopefuls already has a front runner

How Woo Kwok-hing plans to jump-start political reform in Hong Kong