tim's experiment

An interesting little storm has been stirred up – by Jasper Tsang of all people – about the problems of Exco. The basic problem of Exco is that nobody cares what it thinks any more. The fact that a proposal has been approved by Exco falls with a soundless plop into the well of public indifference. Even Legco members are not impressed.

The standard explanation for this, at least in the circles in which Jasper moves, is that it is much harder to impress Legco now that it has been politicised. They look back to a golden age before 1997 when Legco was more biddable, and hence approval by Exco was effectively the last hurdle which most policy proposals had to surmount. The fault is not in Exco, but in the circumstances which now surround it.

This is much too easy. Legco was not the only thing which changed in 1997. The change in Exco was more subtle. Under the colonial system Exco contained two groups. One was the government’s senior apparatchiks – the Chief Secretary and so on. The other was a group of people who were effectively (though not officially) ex officio — that is to say they were appointed because of the jobs they held. In some cases (the Commander British Forces, for example) this was quite explicit. In others (the Hong Kong Bank Chairman of the day) it was fairly shameless. In yet others it was more subtle (the representative of local millionaires). These people had certain characteristics in common. They did not owe their positions to the grace and favour of the Governor of the day.  They were eminent in their own fields and did not particularly need his praise and approval. Consequently their advice – though no doubt not disinterested – was at least free from fear. Membership of Exco was not a career pinnacle for this group. Many of them no doubt regarded it as a chore.

I do not suggest that the resulting advice was excellent. Sometimes it was abysmal. When the UK legalised homosexuality Hong Kong would normally have followed suit. This desirable reform was delayed for decades because the then representative of the local millionaires claimed that Chinese people “did not do that sort of thing.” Nor do I suggest that this willingness to entertain outsiders is a tribute to the open-mindedness of Governors. As they were imported outsiders it was simply not possible for them to fill Exco with friends and supporters. But at least Exco’s view was independent. It was a fresh look which did not duplicate either the civil service consensus or whatever bee was currently buzzing in the Governor’s bonnet. Exco’s powers to oppose were very limited. Requiring the Governor to give reasons in writing for overruling them sounds like a rather trivial obstacle, though no doubt the news that the Governor was at odds with the locals would have gone down very badly with his employers in London. Still, Exco approval meant something. It meant that a group of mature and reasonably intelligent people from a wide range of backgrounds had looked at a proposal and found it good, or at least not bad enough to make a fuss about. What does approval from Exco signify now?

Well the short answer is nothing. Chief Executives still have the apparatchiks to rely on. The other group now comprises the CE’s assorted sidekicks, supporters, sycophants and small horses. Many of them are career politicians or would like to be. Being on Exco is a huge social step up for them (and a business boost for some) so continued membership is highly desired. It also appears that at least some of them are vetted by the PRC Liaison Office in Hong Kong. There was an intriguing little story the other day relating that Mr Alan Lee had been asked by a Mainland official if he could suggest any new Exco members. He duly offered a name. Weeks later he heard that the individual concerned was regarded as unsuitable. Now Mr Lee has been around for a while. He knows how official minds work and we can I think take it that he did not nominate a conspicuous member of the Martin Lee Fan Club. So one wonders what the problem with his nominee was.

Tracing Exco’s problems back to 1997 obscures the fact that some of them are of recent vintage. The various friends and supporters recruited by Messrs Tung and Tsang may not have been inspiring, but at least they were more or less honest. It appears that many of Mr C.Y. Leung’s most enthusiastic supporters backed him because they were, or expected to be, in trouble with the law. No doubt in such circumstances membership of Exco helps. It hardly increases public respect for the administration, though, and leaves you wondering about Mr Leung. Has the poor man no real friends?