Tang believes he can still win

But reports say his rival Leung has better chance in coming Hong Kong election

HONG KONG: Embattled Hong Kong leadership candidate Henry Tang said he believed he could still win this weekend’s election despite reports that Beijing has switched its support to his rival.

Tang, a wealthy businessman and the city’s former chief secretary, was believed to have Beijing’s backing until a series of personal scandals and gaffes destroyed his standing with the general public.

The South China Morning Post daily cited unnamed sources close to Beijing saying the central government had started to privately lobby for Leung Chun-ying, Tang’s chief opponent ahead of Sunday’s vote.

“Every candidate has a chance to win or lose,” Tang, 59, said when asked to comment on the report.

“My target is on March 25. I will work harder to gain the support from the people,” he said.

A 1,200-member electoral committee packed with mainly proBeijing business and professional elites will choose a replacement for outgoing Chief Executive Donald Tsang, whose term expires in June.

Ordinary Hong Kongers do not have the right to elect their leader, but have made their opinion known through approval ratings showing Leung, 57, with a hefty lead over Tang and pro-democracy candidate Albert Ho.

Pro-beijing Liberal Party chairman James Tien was quoted by the Post as saying he believed Leung had a better than 50% chance of winning, after Beijing started to make its intentions clear to committee members.

Despite Leung’s higher popularity with ordinary citizens over his promises to boost social welfare and public housing, he is facing a parliament inquiry for conflict of interest in a government property project a decade ago.

He also faces claims of links to triad figures and of being a secret member of the Chinese Communist Party – a claim he has repeatedly denied.

Veteran pro-democracy lawmaker Emily Lau said Beijing’s reported bid to canvas support for Leung showed the central authorities’ “blatant interference” in Hong Kong’s political affairs.

“It seriously undermines the ‘one country, two systems’ model because the central government officials are directly issuing orders to the Hong Kong government and election committee members on what to do,” she said.

“This election is nothing but a farce because they (Beijing) are pulling strings from behind the scene and treating the election committee members as puppets,” the Democratic Party acting chairman said. — AFP