Sources tell Post former lawmaker Tony Tse Wai-chuen opted not to become a minister as criticism mounted over his ties to Beijing and property developers
Hong Kong’s next leader is finding herself in a public relations battle over her cabinet line-up, pitching it as an “experienced” team after one new face was said to have dropped out Thursday night. The withdrawal of former lawmaker Tony Tse Wai-chuen, whom the chief executive-elect was considering for development minister, is giving her a headache as she has to fill this last vacancy before submitting the list to Beijing for approval, sources say. Asked by the if he had ever been approached or had already turned down Lam’s offer, Tse said on Friday he would not comment on “rumours”. The sources said Tse – a surveyor with close ties to Beijing’s liaison office and Hong Kong’s property developers – changed his mind amid mounting criticism the past two days as news spread he could join Lam’s team. A source said some Lam supporters did not welcome Tse, who last year representing the architectural, surveying, planning and landscape sector. Tse would have been one of two new faces in Lam’s cabinet, alongside Law Chi-kwong, a pan-democrat tipped to be secretary for labour and welfare. The other 14 posts from within the government. Allan Zeman, a key adviser during Lam’s election campaign, declined to comment on Tse’s case and expressed confidence in the new administration. “It’s really up to her leadership and how she organises people. She’s a charismatic leader, ” Zeman said. “The line-up may not be young and fresh, but in the end what we need are experienced hands.” The maverick businessman claimed that working in the government was not easy due to its many rules and regulations. “Sometimes you want to be innovative … but many people have not worked the system out.” Zeman added he would not join the Executive Council as a non-official member because he travelled out of town for business too frequently. A source close to Lam similarly argued that, despite a lack of new faces in the new cabinet, it was “a team that could get things done immediately” because the ministers all knew how to navigate the government system. In a particularly sensitive position on Lam’s team, the unpopular incumbent commissioner of the, Simon Peh Yun-lu, will stay put, the same two sources said. Peh drew flak last year, the acting head of the anti-graft agency’s powerful investigative unit, from her position citing underperformance. Li then resigned. Chief Executive has distanced himself from the matter amid speculation that Li was removed over a probe into his receipt of. Although pan-democrats have called for Peh to quit, one of the sources disagreed, saying the embattled commissioner had “improved ICAC’s tarnished image” following the scandal involving his predecessor Timothy Tong Hin-ming, who was accused of breaking rules with his lavish hospitality spending. Tong was not criminally prosecuted.
