He looked different. Casual, perhaps. Relaxed, definitely. The smile was the same. The gestures identifiable. And the wave of the hand equally intimate. So what was missing?

Donald Tsang put down his "trademark" bow tie yesterday to walk among the masses. His tour may have been whirlwind but it echoed on Hong Kong people's "championship" spirit.

Tsang had promised to reach out to the people while announcing his candidacy for the July 10 chief executive (CE) by-election. His first campaign tour to win the support of the public was also his first step to honour that vow.

"I feel great," he said about the tour, delighted to vividly see in it one of Hong Kong's finest characteristics -- people's championship.

"In Hollywood Road, I've seen those shops that we're familiar with. I can still see in them the championship Hong Kong has been standing for. Although life has been tough, they have carried on depending on themselves," Tsang said.

"In Aberdeen, I have seen and heard for myself the living of fishermen and know they are leading quite a tough life. In Hong Kong's history, they set the first example of championship that has carried on till now," he said.

"And in IFC, many special and stylish shops have opened in our most modern financial centre. They have witnessed Hong Kong's development and renewed their business mode to become a market leader."

Hollywood Road is where Tsang spent his childhood. His family moved into the former Police Married Quarters in the adjacent Aberdeen Street, Sheung Wan, in 1951. The next 20-odd years saw him in the role of an active member of the neighbourhood.

And yesterday Tsang relived moments of the past by beginning his district tour from the neighbourhood.

Around 9:30 AM, he and his entourage reached the quarters. After enquiring about the health of an elderly woman waiting at the main gate, he told journalists that his family used to live in a small unit on the fourth floor. "We were allocated another unit when my father was promoted," he said.

"There were no toilet facilities in the quarters at that time. Public lavatories were only installed on the lower floors later. The facilities were very poor," Tsang recalled.

He was glad to see the site of his former home to be used for another purpose so that the community could benefit from it. The site of the police staff quarters has been earmarked for sale and officials are right now drafting the tender terms.

As a child and even after growing up, Tsang often used to go to a nearby temple to play table tennis. Yesterday, he could still remember vividly that he had to pay 15 cents to play for 15 minutes and 30 for an hour.

Speaking of conservationists' demand for protecting the old trees that had grown out of the walls surrounding the complex, Tsang said he was well acquainted with one of the old ones and understood the local sentiment towards the trees and everything else in the complex.

"But I believe that when the government sells the site, they would consider the residents' views and the site's value in order that a balance can be struck. I trust they will consider it carefully," he said in response to a group of Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and other organizations that were protesting nearby.

Tsang is no stranger to the locals, such as 76-year-old fruit vendor Lee Pui-man. Lee has been selling fresh fruits near the police staff quarters for 60 years and has seen Tsang since childhood.

"Every time he drove by, he'd stop and shake hands with me," Lee told China Daily. "Although he has climbed up to such a senior position, he has never looked down on us, the small potatoes. I'd give him all my blessing to succeed in the CE bypoll."

David Tam, a wine-seller in the adjacent Soho area, said Tsang should pay more visits to the locals to feel the pulse and get to know whether what government officials were doing did indeed reflect the desires of the community.

Tam was confident Tsang could make a difference to Hong Kong's governance, given the "resolute" style he had demonstrated over the years.

Also among the onlookers was 82-year-old Cheung Pun-lap who had rhymed 10 lines in the CE hopeful's support. Two of the lines read: "It is fortunate to have him as CE; with him, shall Hong Kong be abundant with gold." The elder citizen told China Daily that he was not disappointed for not having been able to hand him the writings.

In his second and last stop, Tsang visited a fisherman's family on their fishing junk in the Aberdeen typhoon shelter and stopped at the Kee Wah Bakery and the Canteen Fastfood Restaurant in IFC.

"In the Kee Wah Bakery, I have seen the legend of how an old cake maker has evolved into a large enterprise of modern operation," he said. "In Maxims, I have also seen an example of Hong Kong's growth. It's evolved from an old restaurant into a modern enterprise. I just visited the Canteen which is a good place," he said. "This is something we in Hong Kong should be proud of."

Tsang cancelled his plan to eat at the Canteen because of the overwhelming number of reporters and cameramen trailing him.

"I had to cancel it because the media was so enthusiastic and I am concerned about the disturbance that it might have caused to their customers," he said.

Besides Tsang, legislators Lee Wing-tat and Chim Pui-chung have announced their intention to run for the bypoll, but both are far from getting the mandatory 100 nominations. Nominations will close on June 16. If more than one candidate is nominated, the Election Committee will vote on July 10 to elect the new CE.

Amid nets, trawlers he reels in praise

"Good!" Donald Tsang exclaimed when veteran fisherman Ng Yau-kam told him he had four daughters.

Tsang made the remark as he stopped by Aberdeen typhoon shelter to visit local fishermen on his first territory-wide campaign tour.

Concerned about Hong Kong's shrinking population, Tsang recently urged couples to have more children.

The chief executive hopeful, while on a fishing trawler yesterday morning, chatted with the 45-year-old fisherman, who was impressed by Tsang's friendly and people-oriented style.

"Tsang is friendly and nice. He is willing to reach out to the masses to get a better understanding of their livelihoods," he said.

"He gave me the feeling that I had a chat with an ordinary citizen," Ng said.

Accompanied by his wife Salina Tsang and an entourage, Tsang visited various fishermen in the Aberdeen typhoon shelter, home to hundreds of fishermen living on fishing junks.

He took a sampan ride and boarded a trawler to chat with Ng and other fisheries associations' representatives.

The tour campaign was covered extensively by the media.

During his visit, Tsang pledged that, if elected, he will strive to map out medium and long-term strategies to boost the sustainable development of the fisheries industry in Hong Kong.

"I realize that the fisheries industry has encountered some challenges in the short-term... I will think about what we can do to enhance the sustainable development of the fisheries industry and enable local fishermen to be self-reliant," he said.

Tsang also heaped praise over fishermen's traditional hardworking spirit which has helped reshape Hong Kong from a fishing port decades ago to an international economic powerhouse.

Tsang gave his blessings to fishermen and hoped that he would see less disputes in the community.

Veteran fisherman Po Yan-fu, who is also a representative of Hong Kong Fishermen's Mutual-Aid Association, said: "Tsang is a pragmatic and competent man. He has secured the widespread support of Hong Kong citizens to contest the CE position.

"If he is elected, I greatly expect that he will show more care for fishermen's livelihoods," Po said after chatting with Tsang.

"Fishermen are a vulnerable group with a low education level and job skills," he said. "I hope Tsang can lead the government to provide support services such as credit facilities and training to help fishermen. It would be a great economic and social loss if the f isheries industry is diminished," he said.

Yeung Yun-kong, vice-chairman of Hong Kong Fishery Alliance, hoped Tsang could create more job opportunities and boost further economic pick-up in Hong Kong.

Third-term CE's annual salary to be HK$4 million

The monetary value of the remuneration package of the Hong Kong SAR's third-term chief executive (CE) shall be raised to over HK$4 million, an independent commission recommended yesterday.

While making the above proposal, the commission also suggested a three-year "sanitization" period during which a former CE cannot take up any job or participate in any commercial activities.

The Standing Commission on Remuneration Package and Post-Office Arrangements for the Chief Executive yesterday submitted its findings to the government.

Before coming up with a report, it had met six times since April and also incorporated opinions from legislators, political parties and members of the public.

Addressing the media after submitting the report, Commission Chairman Wong Po-yan said the CE's annual remuneration should be around HK$4 million.

His remuneration is also 12.5 per cent higher than that of the chief secretary for administration (CS). In the old days, the remuneration of the governor was 125 per cent of the remuneration of the CS.

On activities for former CEs, it is recommended that such individuals shall not be handicapped from taking part in political activities, Wong said.

As to job seeking and commercial activities, he should not be allowed to take part in any full-time or part-time job or business within the first year of leaving office, but he can take on academic, charitable or non-profit activities.

In the two subsequent years, he should consult the views of an advisory commission before he can take up any professional or commercial appointments.

The commission also reckons that a suitable venue should be allocated as the CE's permanent official residence. If he decides not to move into the official residence, he needs to pay for the relevant expenses.

It is also recommended that an office complete with supporting services be opened for the benefit of former CEs because a former CE can still play the role of a "Hong Kong ambassador".

However, the remuneration for the new CE to be returned on July 10 will remain the same as now. The new remuneration package only takes effect when the third-term CE assumes office in July 2007.

Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam described the proposal as comprehensive and pragmatic. The Executive Council will examine the proposal and make a decision very soon.

As to regulations of activities for former CEs, he said the three-year rule was even more stringent than many other countries and regions.

He also said the government would consider appointing a High Court judge to chair the commission that advises a departing CE on his future jobs or activities.

A high-ranking, well-informed source said Government House was the only place that would be used as the official residence.

The regulation of activities for former CEs does not require any legislation, the source added. But a departing CE will be asked to sign an agreement to comply with the regulations.

In case he breaks the agreement, the government will pursue by way of civil proceedings and await whatever damages awarded by the court.

The source added: "We are making a very big stride forward by starting from zero regulation to a three-year regulation period.

"Although the agreement is not legally binding, we believe a departing CE will not act against the commission's advice particularly that advice will be made open to the public."

The three major political parties in the Legislative Council agreed that the CE's remuneration should be higher than that of the CS but they hold different views on the three-year rule.

In the view of the Liberal Party's Howard Young, it is too harsh to restrain the activities of a former CE within the first year because he may not be approaching retirement age when he vacates office.

Chan Kam-lam, of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said a departing CE also needed to plan for his future and three years was a suitable regulation period.

But Cheung Man-kwong, of the Democratic Party, said the one-year restriction was too short.

Vow to create more jobs in building sector

Donald Tsang has promised to roll out more small and medium-sized government capital projects to create more jobs in the hard-hit construction industry, Election Committee (EC) members of the engineering sector said yesterday.

Tsang will lead the local engineering and construction sectors in their attempt to get some infrastructure and capital projects at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

The chief executive (CE) hopeful met members of the engineering and legal sectors and representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions separately. The engineering delegation voiced concern over the worsening unemployment situation in the construction industry as budget strains forced the government departments to suspend many public capital projects in a bid to trim recurrent expenditures.

Legislator Raymond Ho, one of the 20-odd EC members in the engineering profession, said: "At the meeting, Tsang pledged that if elected, he would ask the financial secretary to ensure that government departments are given enough recurrent expenditures so that more small and medium-sized capital projects could be launched and more jobs created in the construction industry."

Ho said Tsang promised to lead the local engineering and construction sectors to the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou infrastructure works.

The engineering delegation told Tsang that the civil force had been losing engineers because they were not confident about their promotion and job prospects under the contract-based recruitment terms.

Vice-president of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Greg Wong said more and more enthusiastic and young professionals were not been able to find clear channels to participate in the statutory consultation bodies.

Wong quoted Tsang as having said that he had noticed that the Executive Council didn't have any representative with a engineering background and he would try to woo more young and professional elites into the government's consultation bodies.

The delegation believed an overwhelming majority of the 47 engineers, who are members of the 800-strong Election Committee (EC), supported Tsang's bid for the top job.

At another meeting, Tsang shared with popular Federation of Trade Unions' leader Chan Yuen-han his views on introducing legislation on standard working hours and minimum wages.

Chan said the meeting was fruitful because they had narrowed down differences on the issues. No consensus, however, was reached on a timetable for the legislation.

Eric Cheung, one of the 20 EC members in the legal profession, said the delegation urged Tsang to help the legal industry tap into the potential mainland market.

DAB has some advice for the frontrunner

Donald Tsang, if elected the chief executive (CE), should improve governance by building up a solid alliance with government-friendly political parties by allowing them greater participation in the policy-making process at the early stage. Chairman of Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) Ma Lik said this, and elaborated on how, he thinks, the arrangement would work.

DAB has 103 members in the Election Committee (EC) that selects the CE. At an internal meeting late last month, the party drew up a list of what it expected from the new CE and handed it over to Tsang.

"From what we see from his political platform, he has answered our aspirations. For example, his three visions -- relationship with the central government, prosperity and stability, strict adherence to 'One Country, Two Systems' policy -- and his pledge to shrink the Executive Council (ExCo) and to liven up the economy have many things in common with our ideals.

"This is the reason why we support him and (would) nominate him. Although we have not asked each and every one of the 103 members, I guess a large majority of us are willing to nominate him."

Tsang recently said that if elected, he would revamp ExCo by admitting more non-official members from the political parties and individuals at the expense of the heads of policy bureaus. In Ma's opinion, this is a right move because it's enough for the chief secretary for administration and the financial and justice secretaries to represent the government in ExCo. Other principal officials could be present at ExCo meetings only when subjects concerning their departments are discussed.

Ma agrees that heads of policy bureaus will no longer remain ex-officio cabinet members. But he said: "I think the new arrangement would work because it's necessary to have an interim period before formulating new policies for principal officials" to judge the pros and cons more minutely and listen to more people's opinions. "In such a case, the policies will have a greater chance of getting support from society and the Legislative Council (LegCo)."

If ExCo members are thoroughly involved in the policy-making process, they are obliged to sell and defend the government policies, he said. ExCo members from the business sector and professional fields have a duty to sell the policies to the people they represent, and political parties' members should vote in favour of such policies in LegCo.

"If we work together towards a common goal, we would share the glory and the humiliation because pro-government political parties would be duty-bound to support the government and garner votes in LegCo... But that's not the case at present. Although we have (former party chairman) Tsang Yok-sing sitting in ExCo, he only serves in his personal capacity."

He explained further: "At present, we only support the government when it does the right thing and criticize if it acts wrongly. Very often when government policies are discussed by ExCo, it is too late to make any changes. In fact, we find it hard to back some policies for if we did so, our electors would desert us. In the past, the government only sought our help when it encountered a tough issue, but once it was solved, it stole all the glory."

"If we are not involved in policy-making, why should we support him? It can only be a case-by-case basis but not a long-term partnership. I think Donald hates it and is more aware of the situation than (former CE) Tung (Chee-hwa) that the government has no votes in LegCo. The government needs to share power with us. But if Donald says he does not want to share power with political parties, then there'd be a disparity between our expectation and his goal. The new arrangement would take some time to work. But if the government lets us down several times, we will not be foolish enough to stay on."

Tsang's proposed cabinet revamp is nothing but going back to the old days, Ma said. It is perfectly okay for him to choose the most effective way of operation. "There's no such thing as getting rid of Tung Chee-hwa's mode of operation," he said. "In my view, it is also reasonable to shift the annual Policy Address from January to October so that it coincides with the new term of LegCo. Just like at the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC), there are always submissions of government reports during the annual session," said Ma, who is also a NPC deputy.

On Tsang's vow to appoint political party members as deputy policy bureau chiefs and their administrative assistants, Ma welcomed the idea of nurturing political talents in Hong Kong. If the government wants DAB to recommend names, it would be very willing to do so. There's a shortage of political talents in Hong Kong, he said, because they hardly get any proper training and don't have any career path.

"For the benefit of Hong Kong, we will let go of any talents if the government wants them because that would give political party members greater exposure to politics. For example, Tsang Yok-sing can become a very good education minister. We believe people who shine in our party can also do well in the government."

Ma said Tsang's campaign team excelled in public relations and writing speeches. But there's no one who has any real electioneering experience. "Their efforts to approach members of the public are less than well-done, and he did not ask us to help him."

Knowing that Tsang is eager to get more than 700 nominations, Ma had a piece of advice for him. "It may be his strategy to be elected uncontested by getting more than 700 nominations and give no chance to the two other potential contenders. But what's the point of going that far, especially when there's a risk that someone might initiate a judicial review challenging EC's validity?

(China Daily HK Edition June 10, 2005)