A tightrope walk for Tsang

His trademark bow tie was burgundy and grey, with a matching handkerchief pointing from the breast pocket of a three-piece suit. He laid out his goals as Hong Kong's new leader in the language of a practised British bureaucrat, in which no problem seems beyond solution if the right committee is formed and everyone is reasonable.

True to his reputation as a natty dresser and smooth operator, Donald Tsang came out to meet foreign correspondents last Monday, two days after taking over as this enclave's acting chief executive. Through the reporters, he sought to reassure the world that Hong Kong is still on the path to rule by law and greater democracy despite the bumpy departure of his predecessor, Tung Chee-hwa, and a growing impression that China's central government is running things here with ever-tighter controls.

"There is absolutely no conspiracy in all this,'' he declared.

After ignoring a week of leaks from Beijing that he was about to resign, Tung went to the capital last Thursday and made it official, citing poor health. The Chinese leadership did nothing to discourage him. So Tsang, as No 2 in the hierarchy, on Saturday became Hong Kong's acting leader pending the choice of a permanent new chief executive by an 800-member committee on July 10.

As a native of Hong Kong and a long-time civil servant with a wide circle of friends, Tsang has been rated — by Beijing as well as political figures in Hong Kong — as a good bet to juggle the tensions between activists demanding expanded direct elections and Chinese rulers insisting that "one country, two systems'' does not mean swift democracy.

Tung had gained a reputation as a faithful subordinate to the central government. His departure was widely interpreted in Hong Kong as a bow to decisions taken in Beijing. The Shanghai-born shipping tycoon, tapped by Beijing when Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, was seen as out of touch and politically maladroit.

Economic recovery

Despite a widespread understanding in Hong Kong that he already has been anointed in Beijing to take over as the next permanent chief executive, Tsang refused to say whether he wants the job. His only goals as acting leader during the next three months, he said, will be keeping Hong Kong's economic recovery on track and preparing for a smooth vote by the committee in July.

True to his self-declared instinct for caution, Tsang also declined to say whether the Communist Party leadership in Beijing has given him reason to believe he will be the one.

But the support so far has come with a short leash. The chief executive picked on July 10 will serve only the remaining two years of Tung's second term. Analysts said that will give Hu's government time to test Tsang before granting him a full five-year term beginning in 2007.

Previous interpretations of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the "one-country, two systems'' understanding reached with departing British colonial authorities in 1997, had held that any new term would be five years. Opposition political figures here have accused Beijing leaders of reinterpreting the law to suit their political goals with Tsang. Some have pledged to challenge the procedure in court.

Tsang said he also previously had believed that the law mandated a five-year term. But he said Hong Kong's secretary for justice, Elsie Leung, researched the question and reached a new conclusion, based on documents and consultations, that having the next chief executive finish out Tung's final two years does not violate the law.

"We looked deeper into the issue,'' he explained, dismissing suggestions that Beijing was twisting the Basic Law.

"Speculation can be rife. But it is the responsibility of the government to do the right thing.''

Tsang, 60, the son of a police officer and a lifetime functionary in the Hong Kong administration, has already gained the support of many Hong Kong residents, according to opinion polls and comments in the street. His task now, analysts here said, is to retain that support and, at the same time, please the Chinese leadership in Beijing.

Judging from his comments on Monday, Tsang has the necessary flexibility. While pledging to make Hong Kong more democratic, he also said democracy can take many forms.

"When we say one man, one vote, we have to define what that is,'' he said, without offering his own definition.

Tsang has made a career of such a balancing act. After a brief time as a salesman, he entered the British colonial administration in 1967, working for London even as many of Hong Kong's Chinese residents escalated their demands that the British depart. As Britain pulled out in 1997, Tsang was awarded a knighthood for his long service to the empire.

In Hong Kong, though, he has always been known as Donald — not Sir Donald — or, because of his neckwear, "bowtie''. He and his wife, Selma, have been regulars at Hong Kong dinner parties and over the years have made friends in all camps. He has made no secret of his Roman Catholic faith, attending daily Mass, even though the Catholic church is a strong voice in the democracy movement.

– Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service