Former ministers recall Tung’s reform drive and Article 23 delay
Bastillepost · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
As tributes continued for former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa on Sunday, former senior officials reflected on two major themes of his administration: the delayed push for Article 23 national security legislation and his effort to reshape governance by bringing in non-civil service figures. Their recollections portray an administration balancing heavy post-handover pressures with an attempt to loosen the grip of Administrative Officers over decision-making
Key Points
- Former security secretary Regina Ip said the first-term government did not prioritize Article 23 immediately after 1997 because transition work was overwhelming, especially for the Department of Justice and Security Bureau, including the right-of-abode controversy
- Ip said that in the six months before the handover, the colonial government had tried to amend the Crimes Ordinance with provisions on secession and subversion, but Beijing moved quickly to stop it
- According to Ip, Tung instructed justice secretary Elsie Leung and her in 2001 to begin full research on Article 23; after a three-month consultation and more than 100 amendments, the bill was still withdrawn after mass protests
- The report says Tung led the Article 23 effort directly through Elsie Leung and Regina Ip, while chief secretary Donald Tsang had little role after some of his proposed revisions were not accepted
- Former financial secretary Antony Leung and former home affairs secretary Patrick Ho said Tung recruited outsiders including Antony Leung, Patrick Ho, Arthur Li and Frederick Ma to support an accountability system and reduce Administrative Officer dominance
Why It Matters
The recollections add detail to two long-running debates in Hong Kong politics: why Article 23 was delayed at first and how Tung tried to change the structure of executive governance. They also frame his legacy not only around the failed 2003 legislation push, but around an earlier and broader attempt to bring business and professional figures into top government roles