The nomination period for the Chief Executive election will begin on 14th February. The four contenders have also come to engage in a "close-quarters combat" with their campaigns, including paying courtesy calls on the same day on various industrial and commercial organisations and Election Committee members to brief them on their governance ideals in order to solicit their nomination tickets.
By now, it seems Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is taking the lead among the four contenders. On this, well said some Election Committee members yesterday that Carrie Lam met the four major requirements for a CE candidate, including loving the nation and Hong Kong, being trusted by the Central Government, having the capability to govern and being supported by citizens, even with high scores in some of them - particularly the Central Government's trust. Election Committee members ought to take this into account. Otherwise, if someone not trusted by the Central Government is elected, it will definitely not be a blessing for Hong Kong society.
At the same time, some Election Committee members also pointed out that for a members of the Election Committee, nominating [a candidate] or casting the vote later was by no means a personal affair. So he or she cannot act according to his or her personal likes or dislikes but must take into consideration the impact on the whole SAR and vote responsibly.
It seems that in this unprecedentedly fierce CE-election race, most members of the Election Committee are rational, judicious and responsible, taking "one country two systems" and Hong Kong society's overall interests as the basis and supporting the four requirements set by the Central Government. They have already made up their minds who they will cast their votes for.
It is thus pleasing to see that Carrie Lam begins to take the lead in the CE-election race
As a matter of fact, apart from meeting the Central Government's four requirements, Carrie Lam herself has put a lot of efforts into the campaign. In particular, she is seen to have kept probing to absorb and make progress. In meeting with personages from business and financial sectors she was able to modestly admit that she needed to listen to more opinions and gain more understanding. Such behaviour is down-to-earth and heartening.
As Carrie Lam herself said yesterday she would not unveil a complete platform shortly because she wanted to have more contacts with Election Committee members and hear more opinions from various sectors, so that she could draw on collective wisdom and absorb all useful ideas to write a feasible and down-to-earth platform and put it into practice after being elected. Such thinking is entirely reasonable and praiseworthy. In fact, contending for the CE election is not a process for one to simply sell oneself and solicit ballots, but for one to find practical and feasible solutions for improving the governance of the SAR Government and promoting social and economic development and improving people's livelihood, including how to ease contradictions and foster consensus. Therefore, it is very important for a contender to go out more often, listen to more opinions, see more aspects of the society and ponder more thoroughly. There is no need to rush to unveil one's platform before others. Needless to say, a contender must have clear ideals in governance and specific goals. In this way, after fully absorbing "nutrients", conditions would be ripe for him or her to work out a good platform, instead of making fool of himself or herself by talking about "enabling 60 per cent of Hong Kong people to live in public housing".
In her contacts with personages from various sectors and Election Committee members, Carrie Lam's performance meets "role expectations" and is well before everyone's eyes. What is outstanding is that on some sensitive issues and issues of principle Carrie Lam can stick to her constant stance, instead of swerving to the left or right for the sake of soliciting votes. For instance, in meeting with business organisations, she insisted on letting more citizens share the fruits of economic development, while stressing that she was not a welfarist.
Such persistence is gratifying. Not to mention that she has a good "track record" and "strong point" in elderly services and poverty alleviation, more importantly, it should be the conscience of those in power to care for the grass-roots, be kind to the elderly, help the poor and uphold social justice, which are the fundamental foundation for social development and stability. It hoped that Carrie Lam continues to adhere to her "original intention", listening to more opinions and making even better performance.
10 February 2017
