Veteran China watcher Professor Lau Siu-kai on Monday also said he believed Beijing might seek to micromanage more and could take a closer look at the government’s opinion gathering and analysis ability in the days to come. The decision was made, Cheuk said, after various surveys revealed the public had huge reservations, pointing to limited coverage of recycling facilities. Lau said: “I think the incident will dent the government’s authority a little bit.
But I do not think it will be too severe since the scheme has not yet been implemented. “The government might gain some points because of its willingness to change course amid public opposition.” Lau, a consultant for semi-official Beijing think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, also said the central government would probably advise Lee to tread carefully even on seemingly “trivial” practical issues to prevent them from morphing into big political trouble.
Chan Wai-keung, a political scientist from the Hong Kong Community College of Polytechnic University, said shelving the scheme seemed to be the wisest and most politically cost-effective way to handle the issue. “It is not going to hurt John Lee’s governance or authority much. He does not own the policy, so to speak, but only inherited it from the previous administration,” Chan said.
He said he also believed the government had planned to drop the scheme much earlier, pointing to a newspaper article penned by pro-Beijing heavy.
