by Fong Yuen

For the one promotion of Vivian Lau Lee Kwan, Ta Kung Pao has made such a fuss. What used to be an internal SAR government matter to promote or demote any person was under the division of one country, two systems, and was not up to the likes of Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po to have their say. However, today, Hong Kong’s authority no longer sits in the Western District or Central. Carrie Lam must have felt this too, right?

Originally, whether Vivian Lau is promoted or not, her own boss or her boss’ boss would have had the final say. However, times have changed, once Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po have uttered a sound, would Carrie Lam dare to say “no”? If Carrie Lam dared to go ahead with the promotion of Vivian Lau, it would at least show that one country, two systems still has the last feeble breath. Yet with all this unfolding, it might as well be that Vivian Lau has not yet received her promotion before Carrie Lam herself has to go.

During the Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang eras, after the central government appointed the major officials of the SAR, the SAR government would take care of the daily matters. The Basic Law stipulates that the central government would only handle military and diplomacy. At that time, at least things appeared to be in accordance with that law. From the moment when Leung Chun-ying immediately went to thank the Liaison Office for his win, the day after he took office, the relationship between the central government and the SAR government has entered a “whole new world”. The further the central government pushes the invasion, the further back the SAR government retreats. Today, even the promotion of a mid-level official is up to the central government to “comment”. It’s not just words, but their effectiveness. The SAR government has no choice but to obey.

Originally, if the Liaison Office had any opinions regarding this promotion, it could have used its own channels to communicate with the Government Office. Send an official from the Liaison Office, give a ring to the relevant official in the SAR government, go around the bush a little, the Carrie Lam administration would have known how to act. Why mobilize Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po to expose the incident, to make the Carrie Lam administration look bad?

First of all, of course it was to belittle the SAR government and increase the authority of the central government. Once the incident was exposed, it was one in the eye for Carrie Lam, who dares not argue, and dares not obey accordingly. As such, whoever gets a say in Hong Kong is apparent to all levels of the SAR government. The pro-Beijing faction understands, 7 million Hongkongers also understand, and so do the foreign consulates and agencies in Hong Kong. This is much more effective than private communication.

Secondly, this was to forewarn all levels of the SAR government who the real boss is – not the one leading you, not the directors of various departments, not Carrie La, but LOCPC and HKMAO. In the future, you will not only obey your boss, but you ought to actively and proactively listen and pay attention to the messages conveyed by the pro-CCP media to understand the intentions of LOCPC and HKMAO.

Thirdly, this was to tell the Hong Kong pro-Beijing factions not to believe in rumors and gossips, not to rely on private connections and relationships, but that all power belongs to the central government. Each person’s weal and woe are not in the hands of the SAR officials but in those of LOCPC and HKMAO. The Hong Kong SAR government is but a pawn, a whole bunch of puppets. Not recognizing the current situation would only cause one to wreak one’s future at any moment.

Lastly, it was to show the world that Hong Kong’s matter is an absolutely internal matter of the CCP and will not tolerate any foreign interference. You foreign countries can comment all you want, and the CCP will do its own thing. Today it was about the promotion of an SAR official; tomorrow, it will be opinions any moment on Hong Kong’s administration, legislation, and judiciary. It will set a precedent, and comprehensive governance will follow. It will also be more and more direct. Two systems or not, zip it.

At this juncture, the silliest is Regina Ip. After roaming in the administration for most of her life, she has caught on to the “bad habits” left behind by the old Hong Kong British governance. Such a stubborn brain, and not knowing when to advance or retreat. To this day, Regina Ip still believes that the central government is the central government, and the SAR is the SAR. This proves exactly how her “political wisdom” is nil.

To borrow a common CCP term, this is the “period of fortification” of the central government’s all-round governance in Hong Kong. Now is a critical moment and the key to political confrontation. Last year, a whole year of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement shocked the world. The CCP’s plan to suppress Hongkongers with the army was nixed because of Trump. Thankfully for the implementation of the national security law, coupled with the virus, the people’s resistance movement was finally suppressed.

Now society is returning to calmness, as the CCP is giving its full attention on settling the scores with the democrats, the pressure inside and out is huge. At this juncture, with the promotion of Vivian Lau, such sideway interventions were the CCP’s way of “milking the momentum” for yet another show of strength, and to fully rectify Hong Kong’s political structure and take back power. Regina Ip has, however, chosen this exact moment to jump around with her “irresponsible remarks”. It was not only unhelpful but almost playing the CCP false.

Look around at all these pro-Beijing slicks wrestling to snatch an application to join the party, all of whom are vying to take advantage of the situation. Whatever she is possessed with, she honestly believes that someone has her “back”, and still wants to win the favor of government officials at all levels. What she is not aware of is that with this impulsive recklessness, she has depleted all of her political capital accumulated in the past decades. In the big issue of “right or wrong”, she has been weak and indecisive. Offending the pro-CCP media will bring her no luck. And so, adieus, this dream of hers to be the Chief Executive.

Click here for Chinese version

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play