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Opinion
Reshuffle shows Hong Kong government’s commitment to accountability
The sacking of the city’s tourism and transport ministers may have come as a surprise, but the chief executive was merely doing his job
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Ronny Tong, SC, was chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 1999 to 2001, and was first elected a member of the Legislative Council in 2004.
The central government’s announcement last week that Hong Kong’s tourism and transport ministers would be replaced, following Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s recommendation, came as a surprise to many.
It was unexpected not only because there appeared to be no hint whatsoever that it was going to happen, but also because the reshuffle was seen as coming a bit too early, in the sense that the administration is just short of its midterm.
The biggest surprise, however, came at the press conference to introduce the new appointees, when Lee said: “We will be looking at people who will be doing things under the philosophy ‘there’s never the best, only the better’.” He added: “I want to do more in this two and half years. I want to get the people that will fit my criteria.” This was seen as a thinly veiled accusation that the two removed officials were simply not good enough.
While it is hardly unprecedented for key government officials to be replaced (some even argue that this has become a “constitutional convention”), this was the first time a chief executive has explained a cabinet reshuffle in such a frank way. Was Lee too harsh or simply doing his job properly?
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