Privy member Alice Wu's Editorial in the South China Morning Post

THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

by Alice Wu 2008-12-13

Tsang's descent to collective indifference

What can be worse than the government's embarrassingly clumsy repatriation of Hong Kong travellers stranded in Thailand? The government's pathetic attempt to appease the public over yet another in a long list of blunders.

Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen's slap on the wrist collective responsibility explanation made zero impact. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's eerie silence made no sense. The administration, criticised for its inaction, incompetence and, worst of all, indifference, responded with collective indifference.

Apathy has never been the way to govern. Even the notorious Niccolo Machiavelli urged princes to at least give the appearance of caring to avoid being despised and hated in order to stay in power. Outgoing US President George W. Bush, whose presidency took on an ugly turn with Hurricane Katrina, came under fire for appearing distant from the plight of his people.

Katrina raised doubts over Mr Bush's competence and credibility for everything from the Iraq war to the economic slump. Mr Bush's indifference, as much as the failures of his government's emergency relief system, during Katrina crippled the rest of his presidency.

As disturbing as this may be, it seems the indifference bug has made its way across the Pacific. Apathy has become the crux of the government's recent troubles, which have resulted in one policy U-turn after another for the Tsang administration.

It is hard to believe that at the helm is the same Mr Tsang who was once a popular, confident and able leader who tenaciously refused to let Hong Kong fall victim to the Asian financial crisis a decade ago when he ignored his critics and made his now vindicated intervention in the stock market. Indeed, many of the same free economies that castigated him at the time have resorted to the same measures - in one form or another - in today's global economic meltdown.

It is shocking that Mr Tsang, who fought so fiercely for Hong Kong's prosperity in 1997, would remain silent on why his administration had initially decided to leave his people stranded on foreign soil and left to their own devices.

Katrina severed any remaining bond Mr Bush had with much of the American public. The damage was irreversible as Mr Bush fell out of touch with his people, leaving many Americans disappointed, angry, and yearning for a new leader who they could connect with.

In contrast, Premier Wen Jiabao , known as Mr Tears and the People's Premier, has become a new face for compassionate leadership. Always hands-on and first to respond to disasters, command relief efforts and console victims, Grandpa Wen (as he calls himself) has not only won the hearts of his own people, but countless others around the world.

Unless Mr Tsang breaks his silence and, more importantly, realises that apathy will leave him even more vulnerable, the government will only find it harder to gauge public sentiment and respond to their concerns. Shunning the public breeds further mistrust and discontent.

Alice Walker, the award-winning author of The Color Purple, beautifully encapsulated American sentiment recently when she wrote: I want a leader who loves us.

In the 2008-2009 policy address, Mr Tsang seemed to know what the people of Hong Kong want. We need to be able to count on our chief executive to rely on his capacity to care for the people, and guide us with effective governance to ensure social harmony for Hong Kong our home.

Collective responsibility may have blinded the government to the plight of its residents; but it can ill afford to misjudge its own political plight as a result. Now it is time for Mr Tsang to put his words into practice.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA

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