Two front runners in the race to become Hong Kong\u2019s next chief executive tried to brush off a round of negative publicity during the Lunar New Year holiday. Former financial chief John Tsang Chun-wah tried to dispel concerns that his repeated use of a Chinese idiom to describe his policy visions suggested he would take a \u201chands-off\u201d approach to governing, while former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was attacked on social media for giving money to an illegal beggar. When he on January 19, Tsang said society should listen to teenagers, some of whom might have wanted to create space in the community to \u201crest and recuperate\u201d. He used the same words when he proposed abolishing the controversial Territory-wide System Assessment, which tests pupils\u2019 learning in key areas. \u201cWe should let the schools and parents put down the inner demons of TSA and allow them to rest and recuperate,\u201d he. Tsang\u2019s repetition of the words have led some to speculate that he would adopt a non-interventionist and laissez-faire approach if he was elected, or worse still, sit on the many problems the government faces. Even his former boss, chief executive Leung Chun-ying took an apparent dig at Tsang on a recent radio programme. \u201cIf we adopt the \u2018recuperate and laissez-faire\u2019 approach and our competitors don\u2019t, you can imagine the consequences,\u201d he commented. Tsang hit back on a television talk show on Saturday. \u201cMany people have misunderstood [the words] \u2013 I don\u2019t know whether this was deliberate or due to a genuine lack of knowledge,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I meant was really simple. We need to have less arguments \u2013 I believe many of us have become tired over the past few years. From day to night we see opposing, friend-or-foe, black-and-white situations,\u201d he said. \u201cBy rest and recuperate I am referring to the political bickering.\u201d Tsang was no stranger to criticisms over his non-intervention approach to the market. Fellow chief executive contender Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has said as financial secretary, with few achievements under his belt. Meanwhile, Lam\u2019s bid for the top job got a boost on Saturday when her campaign office announced the appointment of Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai as her senior adviser. Fan is the city\u2019s sole delegate to the National People\u2019s Congress Standing Committee, which heads mainland China\u2019s legislature, and has long been a respected figure in the pro-establishment camp. \u201cLam is a responsible person … she does not fear difficulties and rises to challenges. With Hong Kong being in a time of turmoil and lacking clear directions, we need someone with a strong will and vision,\u201d Fan said in a 90-second video uploaded to Lam\u2019s election homepage. Fan\u2019s endorsement further fuelled suggestions that Lam is Beijing\u2019s favourite candidate. But she also got herself into controversy during a neighbourhood visit in Sha Tin on Friday afternoon. During the stop, Lam kneeled down in front of an elderly beggar while reaching to her left pocket for a HK$500 note \u2013 in front of a media scrum. \u201cDo you have a place to live?\u201d Lam repeatedly asked. When Lam found out the elderly woman did not understand Cantonese, she switched to Putonghua and confirmed the woman was not from Hong Kong. \u201cYou\u2019ve had a hard time,\u201d Lam said, before placing the HK$500 note in her hands. Media reports suggested the woman arrived from central Hubei province on a visitor visa to beg for money to repay family debts. Videos capturing Lam\u2019s encounter went viral on social media, drawing mostly negative comments. Many also dismissed it as a publicity stunt. \u201cLam clearly doesn\u2019t understand \u2026 [if] you give HK$10 to a beggar, you attract another 100 [beggars] asking for HK$10,\u201d one Facebook user wrote. Lam\u2019s election office later explained that she only acted out of \u201cheartache\u201d, and had overlooked the possibility of attracting criticism. According to the Summary Offences Ordinance, \u201cany person who wanders abroad, or places himself or herself in any public place, street or waterway to beg or gather alms\u201d is liable to a maximum fine of HK$500 and 12 months\u2019 imprisonment. Asked about the incident on Saturday, Lam\u2019s successor, chief secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the public should let the matter go. \u201cI know what you are trying to say. But in this environment, depending on the scenario, if she did it out of love and kindness, rather than encouraging begging, then we should not be too stubborn,\u201d Cheung said. \u201cOf course, we do not encourage begging.\u201d<\/p>\n