JASPER TSANG ON EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 000233 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM; ALSO FOR DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2020 TAGS: PGOV PINR HK SUBJECT: JASPER TSANG ON EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS (AND THE NEXT CE) REF: (A) HONG KONG 101 (B) 09 HONG KONG 2252 (C) 08 HONG KONG 2213 Classified By: Acting Consul General Christopher Marut for reasons 1.4( b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Legislative Council (LegCo) President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing used a luncheon address organized by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation to de-bunk a widely-held belief that relations between Hong Kong's executive and legislative branches were dysfunctional. That many government initiatives slowed or even died in the initial consultation with LegCo was healthy, Tsang contended, because it meant legislators were reflecting the concerns of their constituents to the (unelected) executive. Tsang saw the critical divide as cultural, with politicians serving in LegCo and civil servants dominating the executive. While he did not criticize Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (no relation),he believed only a politician could succeed as Chief Executive. End summary. ¶2. (C) Legislative Council (LegCo) President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing addressed a luncheon held by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF) on executive-legislative relations February 5. Tsang, the founder and former chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB),effectively removed himself from party politics when he became LegCo president, and has won plaudits for continuing former President Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai's traditions of neutrality (Tsang, like Fan, does not vote) and defending LegCo as an institution. Still influential within DAB, Tsang is nonetheless something of an outsider, supporting a more progressive democratic line than his more traditional, pro-Beijing colleagues led by current DAB chair Tam Yiu-chung. Unusually for HKDF events, the luncheon was open to the press, which makes Tsang's candor all the more striking. -------------- The Story of the Clash -------------- ¶3. (C) Tsang challenged the commonly-held notion that executive-legislative relations were dysfunctional. Even the so-called opposition parties, he noted, supported the government's legislative program ninety-five percent of the time. He admitted that a fair number of initiatives never became formal proposals because of opposition from LegCo parties during preliminary consultations. He regarded this as a positive development. "If controversial policies are slowed and unpopular policies are halted," Tsang argued, it meant legislators were reflecting the will of their constituents. ¶4. (C) Where there was clash, Tsang suggested, it often reflected the cultural divide between LegCo, which is all politicians, and the executive, which is dominated by the civil service. When voting to support a government proposal, Tsang explained, the most important consideration even for pro-government parties such as the DAB was whether it would harm them in the next general election. ¶5. (C) Furthermore, Tsang seemed unimpressed with the Principal Officers' Accountability System (POAS),by which all cabinet positions were made political appointments (ref B). He recalled former Chief Executive C.H. Tung's explanation that POAS would see cabinet secretaries out stumping at the grass roots, "competing" with elected legislators to build support for policies. Policy secretaries have failed to take up this task, Tsang said bluntly, "including my brother." (Note: Tsang's brother Tsang Tak-sing, a former editor of Ta Kung Pao once jailed by the British for leftist political agitation, serves as Home Affairs Secretary for CE Tsang. End note.) ¶6. (C) Tsang noted with grim amusement the political bind in which so-called "pro-government" parties found themselves. If the government passed a popular measure, while parties on all sides could claim they pushed for the legislation, the government got all the credit. When the government passed something unpopular (or pushed and failed to win),however, the political fallout landed on their allies in LegCo. ¶7. (C) While he spoke well of incumbent Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Tsang was clear that the next Chief Executive should not be either a business person, a civil servant or, for that matter, an academic without public service experience. Hong Kong needed a politician, Tsang declared. (Note: As reported ref C, Rita Fan made exactly the same argument to former CG Donovan in 2008. End note.) HONG KONG 00000233 002 OF 002 -------------- No Train in Vain -------------- ¶8. (C) Tsang pointed the audience toward what he saw as the silver lining in the recent debate over the proposed express link to the PRC national high-speed rail network (ref A). Even the bill's opponents, Tsang contended, were not against the rail link per se. The problem that provoked the protest, Tsang said, was that the sales pitch from the government focused on the convenience of being able "to have breakfast at home, then be in Shanghai in time for an executive meeting before dinner." Indirectly rebuking the administration, Tsang allowed that most ordinary citizens, including those about to lose their homes to clear a path for the rail line, might not find that argument sufficiently compelling to spend HK$60 billion (around USD 7.7 billion) in public money to construct the line. ¶9. (C) Tsang saw two additional positive outcomes to the passage of the bill. First, it focused popular attention on some deficiencies in the policy process, which he felt the government needed to address. Second, he noted Transportation Secretary Eva Cheng Yu-wah (whom Tsang otherwise felt had done an excellent job) would now be reaching out further to young activists and the villagers affected by the rail route. MARUT