At last, a leader who really cares
Everyone needs a hero, and for the moment, mine is Sarah Liao Sau-tung, secretary for the environment, transport and works. Since early last month, when a prominent think-tank criticised her department for its failure to provide details of its ongoing discussions with Guangdong province over air pollution, she has been working overtime to do just that, making a case that breakthroughs are just around the corner.
It is less what she says than how she says it. With a portfolio that has suddenly turned explosive, the 52-year-old environmental scientist has displayed political finesse that is unusual in an Executive Council that routinely ducks tough issues. In 2001, her work as an environmental consultant helped Beijing win its 2008 Olympics bid. Today, she may be helping Hong Kong restore confidence in a badly tarnished government by the simplest and most compelling of methods - offering the public an image of a leader who cares.
Hong Kong, like many of its East Asian neighbours, from Singapore to Malaysia and the mainland, has found that environmental protection offers a cause around which the middle class can rally. In authoritarian regimes such as that of Indonesia under former president Suharto, the green movement gave would-be democrats a platform for political organisation that ultimately fed into electoral reform. Similarly, in Hong Kong, the activists behind the democracy marches last year and this year have embraced green causes with a vengeance. Dr Liao's mandate touches on virtually all the hot topics, from preservation of Victoria Harbour to air quality, and an unpopular project to replace never-occupied public housing with luxury flats at Hunghom Peninsula.
Beyond the current headlines, however, Dr Liao has shown that she understands what it means to be a political appointee at the apex of a department formed and run by Hong Kong's formidably competent civil service. This role is brand-new in the history of the city, and despite its flaws, the 'accountability system', established in 2002, means that somebody has to get up and actively market government policy to the public. They cannot be seen to talk down, refuse to listen or dismiss criticism.
The fact that principal officials enter office without policy support or their own staff makes the work much harder. Most have had to learn the art of politics on the run, and have little skill or experience. Their job is not just to defend the policies drafted by their departments, but to persuade and explain. By doing so, he or she helps build legitimacy for the government.
Given Hong Kong's lack of electoral democracy, why does legitimacy matter? The most basic reason is that the work of government is important. This should be beyond question, but in the current environment, seems forgotten. In Dr Liao's case, among other tasks, she has been charged with safeguarding the quality of the air we breathe, the way Hong Kong manages its daily 17,600 tonnes of rubbish, and the management of its transport infrastructure. Getting them right is a huge task, and if the public doubts her sincerity and methods, it will not support her.
An old rule is that government works best where it works least. In Hong Kong, this is often taken as an argument for unregulated capitalism. But there is another side to the case for light government, which is that the public provides a multiplier effect when it understands and shares the goals of policy. Political leaders must realise that such sympathy is a privilege, not a right, and that public trust is the result of hard work. The most critical support the public can provide is often what it can manage on its own, not mere compliance - but it needs leaders. Now, it seems, Hong Kong has one.
Edith Terry is a writer based in Hong Kong
