If John Tsang is angling for Hong Kong’s top job, his budget was right on the money

Alice Wu says the financial secretary’s widely praised budget speech – no mean feat, given the divisive political mood in Hong Kong – is short on vision and ideas, but long on political acumen

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The financial secretary must be applauded for striking the right tone in last week’s budget. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 8:32am, 28 Feb 2016Updated: 8:32am, 28 Feb 2016

Assuming, for argument’s sake, that John Tsang Chun-wah does aspire to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive, he must be applauded for striking the right tone in last week’s budget. It was, no doubt, carefully drafted. When describing what happened three weeks ago in Mong Kok, he managed to use both “incident” and “riot”. He condemned the violence and said it was “the result of a raft of intricately related factors”.

READ MORE: John Tsang’s budget aims to heal the political divide in Hong Kong

Tsang performed his political high-wire act superbly. Not only did he put money into boosting the local film industry, he also put in a few good words for Cantonese. At the same time, he distanced himself from the so-called “localists” who have targeted mainland tourists in their protests, condemning their actions as “in fact, not the kind of behaviour that reflects love for Hong Kong”.

The budget also offered plenty of emotional hooks. There was the favourite topic of “Hong Kong’s core values”, followed by the ultimate feel-good “hook”: “We, the Hong Kong people, are proud of our ability to persevere through these turbulent years”. Soliciting feel-good emotions while establishing a connection with the public is playing perfectly the politics of emotion and identity. Casting a wide net, he has managed to earn rare praise from pan-democrats, including radicals.

John Tsang’s budget speech offered plenty of emotional hooks. Casting a wide net, he has managed to earn rare praise from pan-democrats. Photo: Dickson Lee

That feat in itself is extraordinary, since pan-democrats may be more stingy with praise than Tsang is with the city’s fiscal reserves. They praised him because his budget was “much more Hongkonger-oriented”, compared with his boss’s policy address. Wu Chi-wai, of the Democratic Party, saw the budget as proof that “Tsang is breathing the same air as we”. If Tsang is indeed eyeing the top job, he looks to be playing all his cards right.

Pan-democrats may be more stingy with praise than Tsang is with the city’s fiscal reserves

Notice also that Tsang’s sweeteners have shifted towards middle-income earners, who are considered to be the demographic most critical of his previous budgets. Think back to 2013 when he was ridiculed for proclaiming his middle-class socio-economic status as a coffee drinker and fan of French movies. This shift is a clear move, on Tsang’s part, to set things right with the middle class.