tim's experiment

In the Basic Law it says that appointments to certain senior positions must be approved by Beijing. That may be viewed by some people as a legitimate expression of the central government’s interest in ensuring that competent sycophants are running Hong Kong. But where, I wonder, did the idea emerge that when such persons wish to resign they cannot do so until the resignation is “accepted by Beijing”, as the papers always put it?

Henry (forget my mistress) Tang is only the latest senior figure who has said he or she was resigning, only to be told, apparently, that said resignation could not take effect until the panjandrums in Beijing had approved it. There is nothing in the Basic Law to suggest that this is necessary. The right to vet candidates for a position does not imply a right to grant or deny their resignations. You can choose your own domestic helper but if she wishes to resign she goes at the end of her contract. There is no practical advantage to having resignations vetted in Beijing. Leaving aside the level of ignorance of Hong Kong affairs to be expected in the person who actually makes the decision, the whole idea defies common sense. Someone who has submitted his or her resignation has demonstrated the lack of a vital qualification for any demanding job: the desire to do it. These senior officials are not employees of the Central Government. Their wages are paid by us. I do not see why we should be expected to pay some lame duck while he waits for official permission to hobble into retirement — or the Chief Executive “election” as the case may be.

Actually if you ask me it is about time some order was brought into this question of senior people resigning. Most of us have to give a certain period of notice. Top people, it seems, can play peek-a-boo about whether they are running for election or not, and then resign at the drop of a hat when the time is, in their view, right. This is a fairly sordid scene throughout, even without the adultery, but it doesn’t have to be as sordid as it looks now. Can we have a formal period of notice required for people who wish to leave for clearly foreseeable reasons, please? And less nonsense about needing permission from Beijing. Hong Kong does not permit slavery. An official who wishes to resign cannot be prevented from doing so.