Chief executive contenders, Democratic Party members and former ministers in Tsang\u2019s cabinet among those seeking leniency for ex-leader<\/b>
While prosecutors portrayed Donald Tsang Yam-kuen as a two-faced man who was undone by greed, the High Court on Monday was presented with an outpouring of public support in the form of mitigation letters from the former chief executive\u2019s friends and critics alike. In a last-ditch plea for leniency, defence counsel Clare Montgomery QC pleaded for leniency, citing letters that praised Tsang \u2013 a \u201crole model\u201d for many \u2013 for his contributions in defending the rule of law, advancing democracy and boosting the economy. Prominent among a stack of some 40 letters was one written by Wong Yan-lung SC, who served as Tsang\u2019s justice minister. Attending the mitigation session, he recalled that Tsang was a boss who put his own reputation on the line for the democratic development of Hong Kong. Wong wrote that in 2010, the political reform package proposed by Tsang\u2019s administration was losing support in the Legislative Council \u2013 unless it was modified to incorporate suggestions made by the Democratic Party. \u201cIt was an agonising decision for him as he had to override certain internal opposition and risk personal credibility and trust before the [central people\u2019s government],\u201d Wong recalled. Wong described Tsang\u2019s decision to accommodate the Democrats\u2019 suggestions as \u201ca selfless act\u201d for the long-term well-being of Hong Kong in its quest for universal suffrage. \u201cDonald truly believes in judicial independence. He assured me repeatedly the independent and internationally renowned judiciary in the HKSAR is our pride and the cornerstone of our success,\u201d he said. Wong recalled Tsang\u2019s staunch support for him when the former justice minister was against a reinterpretation of the Basic Law by Beijing over an international legal dispute. The two strongest contenders for the next chief executive\u2019s job, John Tsang Chun-wah and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also spoke up for their former boss. \u201cDuring this 30-year relationship as colleagues, I have witnessed his enthusiasm in serving Hong Kong,\u201d John Tsang wrote. Lam, who served as Donald Tsang\u2019s development secretary, called him her \u201crole model\u201d as she shared a glimpse into their friendship. \u201cDuring the very difficult times of my handling the constitutional development issues [in 2014], we met at a dinner. He made a point of encouraging me, and wrote on the menu, \u2018Have faith in the people of Hong Kong.\u2019 Those are indeed wise words, and I have kept the menu with his handwritten note up to this day,\u201d she said. Former police commissioner Tsang Yam-pui, Donald Tsang\u2019s younger brother, wrote on behalf of the family and described the eldest of five siblings as a \u201cguiding light\u201d. Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang pleaded for Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai to show leniency. \u201cForty-five years of dedicated service has come to nought. His reputation is in ruins,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMr Tsang, his wife and his family have endured a five-year ordeal that few of us can even begin to appreciate. This is punishment in itself.\u201d A handful of senior officials \u2013 including former chief secretaries Henry Tang Ying-yen and Stephen Lam Sui-lung and current Monetary Authority chief Norman Chan Tak-lam \u2013 wrote in praise of Tsang\u2019s efforts in combatting the Asian financial crisis when he was the city\u2019s finance minister in 1997. Thirteen veterans from the Democratic Party, some of Tsang\u2019s staunchest political opponents, also acknowledged Tsang\u2019s contributions to the city despite their past criticism. The party\u2019s founder, Martin Lee Chu-ming, whom Tsang attended church with, praised him for being a good father. But Mr Justice Chan warned it was \u201chighly unlikely\u201d he would suspend Tsang\u2019s jail sentence.<\/p>\n