Henry C K Liu writes frequently for Asia Times Online. Do look up his other articles on China. Thuis one on the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa is really long and worth reading.
Abstract:
The glorious role of Tung Chee-hwa By Henry C K Liu
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By trying to steer a conciliatory political posture, Tung ended up pleasing few both inside and outside of Hong Kong, including factions in domestic Chinese politics and in US foreign policy. All these diverse forces, for different and even opposing reasons, fantasized about the removal of Tung Chee-hwa from the post of chief executive as if that would strengthen their separate partisan purposes. It is ironic and even amusing that as the rumor of Tung's departure took on a life of its own, these competing forces suddenly found themselves in positions of having to recognize that fantasies are only desirable as fantasies. Reality is a much harder pill to swallow. Even those who fantasize about the bliss of the afterlife find the reality of dying unappetizing. The day will come when Hong Kong will wish for a leader as kind and gentle and accommodating to opposition as the amiable Tung Chee-hwa. All the political venom from anti-China forces has been directed at Tung Chee-hwa personally. This is not surprising, since the colonial tradition of Hong Kong politics accorded the colonial governor with exceptional dictatorial power and therefore the governor should assume full responsibility for the fate of the colony. Anti-imperialist forces in colonial Hong Kong also directed their attacks on the British governor. But the chief executive of post-colonial HKSAR does not command the dictatorial power once enjoyed unapologetically by the British colonial governor. Public criticism of the chief executive is now fair game rather than a criminal offense with a direct path to prison as it was under colonial rule. The British colonial governor was the personification of the British sovereign and was held above political criticism. In colonial Hong Kong, criticism of British imperialism and colonialism was subject to criminal prosecution. In post-colonial Hong Kong, criticism of China and its socialist system is celebrated as a defense of democratic freedom. And anti-China forces attacked Tung Chee-hwa personally to hide the fact that the real target was China and its socialist system.