Yesterday, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference expelled James Tien for calling on Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive, to consider resigning. The decision to exile one of its prominent supporters is a sign that Beijing’s forces in the city are beginning to splinter.
Leung, the city’s top political official, is locked in a month-long standoff with pro-democracy protestors “occupying” major roads and intersections and surrounding key government buildings. Tien, until yesterday the leader of the pro-Beijing Liberal Party, thought Leung was making the city “ungovernable” and that his removal could pave the way for a resolution of the controversy splitting Hong Kong society.
The 67-year-old Tien, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, “is the first major figure from the pro-establishment camp to publicly suggest Leung’s resignation during the Occupy movement.” And his removal was also a first: the first time the CPPCC has invoked its charter to “cancel the qualification” of a delegate for violating one of its resolutions. In March, the advisory group adopted a little-noticed resolution supporting Leung.
Tien’s removal from China’s top advisory body is a signal that Beijing is increasingly demanding loyalty from Hong Kong’s business community, which has traditionally been an ally. “Beijing is supporting Leung during the crisis at all costs,” political commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu told the South China Morning Post. “Don’t rock the boat in the time of crisis is Beijing’s message for the pro-establishment figures.”
Actually, China is demanding more than Lau suggests. The move against Tien, a garment and property magnate, comes just days after an article from Xinhua pointedly criticized business figures for not openly supporting Leung. On Saturday, in a piece entitled “Hong Kong Tycoons Reluctant to Take Side Amid Occupy Turmoil,” the official outlet reported that in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping only Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive, “expressed support to the police’s handling of the demonstrations and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s government.”
Xinhua singled out four prominent tycoons for disloyalty. “Asia’s wealthiest man did not make it clear whether or not he agrees with the appeals of the protesters,” the news agency noted, referring to Li Ka-shing. Lee Shau-kee, Kuok Hock Nien, and Woo Kwong-ching, Xinhua said, “have all remained mute.” As the Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper noted, “it was impossible to miss the critical tone.”
The article lasted only seven hours before Xinhua scrubbed it from the web. In its place the news agency posted a piece highlighting even-handed quotes from Li Ka-shing and mentioning that Lee Shau-kee, Kuok Hock Nien, and Woo Kwong-ching had criticized the protestors. The replacement posting, still online, also notes that other tycoons had lambasted demonstrators.
There is much speculation over the replacement of the first article, but it appears that Chinese leaders wanted to send a message to the city’s business establishment that silence was not good enough. As Beijing’s position deteriorates in Hong Kong, its position hardens.
In response to China’s moves, Hong Kong’s business community has started to show signs of division, not only over the sacking of Tien but also over China’s increasingly tough line. Yesterday, Jasper Tsang, a long-time leader of the pro-Beijing forces in Hong Kong, publicly challenged China’s position that the Hong Kong protests have been fueled by foreigners.
The dominant narrative is that, as time progresses, the Occupy movement will divide into factions and then lose support from Hong Kong’s people. Now, however, it’s evident that time is also taking its toll on Beijing’s allies, who are beginning to disagree among themselves.
Chinese leaders, in trying to prevent division in Hong Kong’s ranks, have assumed a big task. Leung was never especially popular with the city’s business community, and he has become even less so in recent weeks.
First, there was the revelation that Leung had secretly received large payments from UGL, an Australian engineering company, while serving as chief executive (Leung has denied any wrongdoing). Then came a series of impolitic comments, especially his statement this month that democracy would permit Hong Kong’s poor to dominate the political process. As a result, his popularity, never high, hit an all-time low in a poll released Monday.
China’s full-throated support for Leung will probably buttress his position in the short-term, but Beijing’s tactics look like they will increase resentment in the ranks of the tycoons. Defections appear certain, especially if society continues to coalesce against Leung.
Chinese leaders are in danger of losing their ability to enforce discipline on their allies in Hong Kong, something not seen in at least four decades.
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