Public servants must do their best to stay clear of any suspicion of impropriety, Chief Executive Donald Tsang said in a radio interview this morning, adding, “We need to be whiter than white.”
In response to recent reports about his having accepted hospitality offered by his friends and the related discussions in the community, he said he had reflected deeply over the recent events.
He noted he had “come to the conclusion that there might be a gap between the current rules, with which I have faithfully complied, and the expectations of our people. In consequence, we have seen much disappointment, accompanied by queries about the probity of some of my actions, in our community.”
Recent media reports shed light on, and allowed him to better understand, this critical gap which he is determined to take steps to address. He announced an independent committee will review existing regulatory frameworks and procedures on preventing and handling potential conflicts of interests concerning top officials.
He realises there is room for greater vigilance and sensitivity in his handling of the relevant trips, and stressed that the lesson was well learned.
While there is a view that he should not associate with those deemed “wealthy”, Mr Tsang says as Chief Executive he must get a full picture of what was happening in the community, and so he had been maintaining contact with people from all walks of life, including the grassroots and the middle class.
He also disclosed details of passages he had taken on his friends' private yachts and jets, as well as those relating to his rental residence in Shenzhen. For a trip on a chartered jet to Japan in October 2009, he paid $188,000 for the share of total costs including charter fees, fuel and parking, and paid for accommodation there.
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