No one would have imagined that there would be more turbulence in the city than when the evening market had to stop dine-in.
The presence of government officials at the Hong Kong People's Congress's birthday banquet may not be a big problem in itself, but what if there is an outbreak?
Now that the situation has happened, it also proves that the original judgment of the officials was careless.
This is not an afterthought, but since there is a possibility of such a situation, officials should have been sensitive. Anticipating such a situation, they should be more cautious from the beginning, and banquet occasions can be exempted. waived.
What's more, it is theoretically possible for the officials present to be diagnosed with the diagnosis. Have they ever imagined a worse situation?
At present, the nine directors, deputy directors and heads of departments are under quarantine at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center.
What's more, the chief and deputy secretaries of the Home Affairs Bureau and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau have to undergo quarantine at the same time.
It shouldn't have happened by any means, but it happened.
More than just a matter of structure in individual cases
Chief Executive Carrie Lam issued a statement on Friday evening (January 7), saying that she had ordered an investigation into each official's attendance at the banquet and whether they violated discipline such as epidemic prevention regulations. Appropriate actions will be taken against the officials after the investigation is completed.
Disciplinary action must be taken, of course, and individuals should be held responsible for personal problems, but since the incident happened not only to one and a half officials, but to a group of officials, we cannot just treat it as an individual case without asking questions. Structural reasons behind it.
That is to say, at this point, the Chief Executive, as the head of the SAR government, should be held accountable.
During this time, she should ponder why many officials are so careless?
Why didn't they expect such an epidemic to emerge?
Why not just the chief and deputy directors, but also the heads of the disciplinary departments?
Did this governance team go wrong on some issues?
Ultimately she must ask, what has the leader of her leadership failed to do well?
Not to mention that when she criticized Cathay Pacific Airways on Tuesday (January 4), she said with certainty, "If I am the head of the SAR, I will also be responsible for everything."
In particular, we must remember that the Mochizukilou group broke out before the birthday banquet, and more than 300 close contacts and their cohabitants were sent to quarantine. Even though officials had agreed to attend the relevant banquet before, they were still concerned about the risk of the epidemic on the occasion. There should be some reassessment.
On the same morning, the Chief Executive took the oath of 90 members-designate in the Legislative Council, symbolizing a new page in the political landscape.
Shouldn't the accountability officials be devoting themselves to policy formulation and governance reforms at that time, with a view to solving social problems in the new Legislative Council?
Why was it just at this moment that he was careless and made such an unnecessary mistake?
Taking this into consideration, this incident is really not just a disciplinary issue of individual officials, but an overall inadequacy of the SAR government.
In addition, just two days after the birthday banquet, the authorities have tightened restrictions on social activities due to the rising epidemic, and citizens' grievances against officials are naturally even greater.
As the head of the government and the boss of the officials involved, the chief executive should apologize to the society on behalf of the entire team, and it is also necessary.
Apologize to reflect on governance philosophy
An apology is just two words. In fact, it’s nothing. Political apologies are even more political operations with little meaning.
Nixon apologized during the Watergate scandal, and Clinton apologized to the nation when he faced congressional impeachment, but no one felt they had introspected.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also "sincerely apologized to every Hong Kong citizen" after the two anti-amendment demonstrations, but two or three months ago she allegedly complained that her colleagues at the time and the establishment were putting pressure on her. It's like thinking you've never had a problem with yourself.
After all, an apology is not the power to solve a problem unless the person concerned is willing to face the problem itself.
Perhaps the most successful confession in history was the Luntai decree two thousand years ago.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an edict of mourning for the fourth year of the expedition not only because of the temporary "people's strength and financial exhaustion", but because he took the trace of Qin's death as a warning for 20 years, and took the opportunity of Luntai to complete the observance of the letter. 's turning.
In other words, he has a deep understanding of the problem of heavy punishment and heavy punishment, and understands the necessity of changing course.
To be able to have this change two years before his death, the historian Tian Yuqing described it as a move to salvage the decadent situation at that time, and to start the stable rule of the Western Han Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, and even until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were no more similar successful cases.
Every word and deed of modern politics is full of political calculations, just as ironic and realistic as the recent topical movie "Don't Look Up".
When to advance and when to retreat, and whether to be brave or let go in the midst of a political crisis, it is impossible not to make strategic calculations.
But if we go back to the basics and remember that politics itself exists to serve the interests of the people and society, then it is not difficult for politicians to find the problem and know what to do.
Two thousand years ago, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in China kept his own words, while Cicero in the late Roman Republic experienced highs and lows in his political career.
He has tasted the benefits of the consul holding political power, but he has also witnessed the abhorrence of republican politics turning into autocracy.
After Cicero faded out of politics, he wrote a book and wrote, repeatedly emphasizing that political leaders should not only have the ability to think quickly, but also have the virtue of pursuing the happiness of the people in society.
In Hong Kong, where a new political bureau has opened today, this is not only a reminder to current government officials, but also a request to the future rulers of Hong Kong!
Hong Weimin's Birthday Party | Hong Kong rulers' "lucky heart" is a form of corruption. Only by being upright can they rule the society. A birthday party exposes the lack of awareness of Hong Kong officials
