Political situation
Written by: Sha Banshan
2021-02-25 07:00
Last update date: 2021-02-25 07:00
The Financial Secretary, Chen Maobo, issued the fourth budget during his tenure yesterday. Under the "epidemic" with a budget deficit of 300 billion, he delivered a "low sugar" budget as expected.
Chen Maobo has always been regarded as one of the potential candidates for the next chief executive. If he intends to go to Malaysia next year, he is likely to resign and run at the end of this year. This budget is a "farewell" and a "leverage" in popular popularity. Bit".
From a comprehensive political perspective, although Chen Maobo has not expressed his intentions, he secretly possesses three major political capitals, which increases the "incentives" for him to become the chief executive.
Will the myth of "homeopathic succession" that is not a new thing about Treasury's election be broken again?
The election of the current Chief Financial Officer is nothing new. In December 2016, the then Financial Secretary, Tsang Chun-wah, resigned. In January of the following year, he formally announced his candidacy for the Chief Executive, which was a shock to the then Chief Secretary for Administration, Carrie Lam.
The "two divisions" battle has its origins.
There has always been a saying in political circles that the secretary "takes the position". If it can be selected, Beijing is more inclined to select the next chief executive among the secretary. Because he is more familiar with the internal operations and personnel of the government, the most classic example is that he was ranked as the Secretary of Administration. The Secretary-General's Tsang Yinquan succeeded Tung Chee-hwa, who had a sudden pain in his feet, into the Government House.
Therefore, if you are a director, the "card face" is generally slightly higher.
In the current ranking of the three divisions, Chen Maobo ranks second, second only to Chief Secretary for Administration Zhang Jianzong.
But as everyone knows, Zhang Jianzong, who is 70 years old, is definitely not a cup of tea. Chen Maobo has become the highest person in the ranking. This can be described as Liang's "biggest political capital."
However, the myth of "homeopathic takeover" has been broken.
After Tsang Yinquan was appointed, the then Chief Secretary for Administration, Tang Yingnian, competed for the big treasure. As a result of the "Tang Palace" incident, popular popularity dropped and he was eventually defeated by the then convener of the Executive Council, Liang Zhenying.
Is there a track record for the employment tendency in the Sino-US game era?
Some people say that Chen Maobo's second political capital is "track record."
Politicians generally believe that the next Special First Tournament is different from the past. It is in the special historical background of the game between China and the United States. Beijing employs "loyalty and courage" to take the lead, and the Chief Executive will be more inclined to select people who have "known for a long time."
Chen Maobo is also the "big treasurer" of the SAR government, responsible for managing trillions of Hong Kong reserves, and he must have passed the central trust level.
As early as when Lin Zheng took office as chief executive, there were voices saying that Chen Maobo was not Lin Zheng's first choice. Later, it was reported that the central government preferred Chen Maobo to continue as the treasurer to "stabilize the overall situation."
There is even a rumor from the establishment. Chen Maobo was a member of the establishment before he was elected as a member of the accounting sector’s legislative council in 2008. He had contact with Beijing officials for a long time because of his professional relationship, and his style of behavior was "track record", which made him relatively at ease.
Of course, in the list of candidates in Beijing, there are many "track records", not just Chen Maobo alone, and the "advantage" in this area is not very prominent.
There has always been the term "Liang Xingbo" in political circles, which means that Liang Zhenying, the current vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former chief executive, has always preferred Chen Maobo to take over as the next chief executive.
"Liang Xingbo" has been rumored to increase or decrease points?
Finally, there have been rumors of "Marathon" and "Liang Xingbo" in the chief executive’s horse race. The former refers to the former Secretary of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Ma Shiheng supporting his friend and former Financial Secretary Liang Jinsong to play, while the latter refers to the current vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Former Chief Executive Liang Zhenying favors Chen Maobo as the next Chief Executive.
In fact, Chen Maobo was brought into the government as the Secretary of the Development Bureau when Leung Chun-ying became the chief executive, and he was later appointed as the treasurer. It would not be surprising if one city supported the path to the chief executive.
There are two sides to a silver coin. Liang Zhenying is currently the leader of the country. Some people think that this has become Chen Maobo's third capital; but others believe that if Chen Maobo's shadow of Liang Zhenying is too strong, points will be reduced.
The emotional epilogue of the budget makes people think
Of course, in addition to the above three factors, whether Chen Maobo can take his career to the next level, the transcript of this budget is also important.
Regarding Chen Maobo’s "low sugar" budget, a Liberal party that offered consumer coupons gave a positive comment, but many establishment political parties stated that they would not "receive the goods," believing that the treasurer neither distributed the money to the people, nor cancelled public housing rent free. Preferential treatment is to ignore the plight of the grassroots.
Some political circles familiar with the operation of the Hong Kong government said that the budget has always been not only determined by the treasurer. The content and materials are actually the result of the joint efforts of various policy bureaus. The treasurer is mainly responsible for the final check of "special food."
It is circulated in political circles that Chen Maobo's delivery of sugar has encountered great resistance within the high-level government, and he cannot send it if he wants to.
Although the "sweetness" of this budget has declined, the final introduction of 36 billion electronic consumer coupons is considered "exhausted".
Chen Maobo "exhausted" and opened a position to push electronic consumer coupons. Why?
Chen Maobo wrote in the closing speech of the budget today, “I talk to the public from time to time and even during the budget preparation period, and I deeply feel the pain of economic difficulties and food difficulties.” This year, Hong Kong will record the highest fiscal deficit in Hong Kong's history, but after thinking twice, I once again proposed a budget of 100 billion yuan in deficit this year, and continue to introduce countercyclical measures, hoping to stabilize the economy and relieve the pressure of the public."
Will he intend to go to the next level?
I believe there is no need to wait until the end of the year.
The pressure is inevitably frustrating, but looking back, we have experienced ups and downs, stepping up and down.
Along the way, no matter how rugged the road, Hong Kong is still our cherished home.
Home is home not because it is perfect, but because you and I are in it, taking care of each other, accepting each other, supporting each other, and thinking about each other.
This century's epidemic has made us deeply realize that everyone is in the same boat.
Deep-seated contradictions cannot be resolved instantly, and wounds also need time to recover.
No matter how tight the knot is, there is always a way to untie it.
Let time give us room to solve the problem.
Economic ups and downs always have cycles, and there must be a path for prosperity and development.
We have overcome the difficulties of the past one by one, and made Hong Kong a better home.
Difficulties are only temporary, let us work together in the temporary low tide and share a successful future together!
Concluding remarks of the Financial Secretary's Budget Speech
Budget | Chen Maobo: 7.2 million people will benefit from issuing 5,000 yuan electronic consumer vouchers
Budget｜The economy contracted by 6.1% last year. Chen Maobo expects the economy to grow by up to 5.5% this year
Budget | Chen Maobo expects deficit to increase to 257.6 billion yuan, the highest ever
Budget | 5000 yuan electronic consumer vouchers will be issued in 5 installments. The materials can be issued by Octopus and PayMe
Budget｜Rates reductions, public housing, no rent-free quarters 3 and 4, only 4 adults free of rates
[Photos] The Budget "Sweet Reduction" 5,000 yuan electronic consumer coupons, unemployment loan upper limit 80,000 yuan
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Chen Maobo's 2020 Budget Budget