- Move attracts concern that government will fall back on familiar faces in its own network if it does not quickly cast its net wider
- Outfit set up under research unit the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office will be headed by retired bureaucrat Warner Cheuk
A new "Dialogue Office" to help coordinate Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's efforts to solve the protest crisis gripping the city has attracted scepticism on whether the government will engage the right sectors and not fall back on familiar faces in its own network.
The outfit was set up on Monday under the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office (PICO), a research unit reporting directly to Lam, according to a notice to government bureaus and departments.
In the notice, PICO said the new office was set up "on a time-limited basis" and would "take charge of coordinating the dialogue platform programmes initiated by the government and suggestions made by the non-government sector".
The new office is headed by Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, who joined the government as a police inspector in 1981 and retired as permanent secretary for innovation and technology earlier this year.
A government statement said Cheuk was appointed on non-civil service terms for a period of six months. PICO would give administrative support to the new office, it said.
The setting up of the new office was a direct result of the months-long anti-government protests sparked by the now-shelved extradition bill.
At an event on Monday night, Carrie Lam said she believed Hong Kong could overcome the current "raging storm" by means of "sincere dialogue".
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Lam had pledged in a speech to mark the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China on July 1 this year that she would step up the government's work in communicating with people from all walks of life and carrying out more comprehensive, accurate and timely analysis on the community's views on various policies or issues.
She has since met some community leaders and scholars to discuss the setting up of a "dialogue platform".
On September 4, Lam announced four major action plans to break the impasse, including the move to "begin direct dialogue with the community".
Political watchers said the office, being headed by a former bureaucrat, was at risk of relying on familiar faces if it did not quickly cast its net wider. It was not clear if the office's task was purely logistical, but if it had to propose names or groups, then analysts were not hopeful.
Lam's apparent starting point on Wednesday has already left some unimpressed. She is planning to meet the city's 400-plus district councillors.
But those from the two major opposition parties " the Civic Party and Democratic Party " have vowed to boycott the session, accusing Lam of a lack of sincerity. Some from the pro-government camp also said they would not attend, questioning the effectiveness of having a session with so many councillors at one time.
City University political scientist Dr Cheung Chor-yung doubted the Dialogue Office would work.
Creating a new bureaucracy led by a former civil servant is not enoughDr Cheung Chor-yung, political scientist
"Creating a new bureaucracy led by a former civil servant is not enough. People's voices are very clear. People want the government to act, not have more red tape to arrange dialogue with them," said Cheung, who served on the government's former think tank the Central Policy Unit from 2011-14.
"The new office should not only be an executive unit to help make appointments for the chief executive or senior officials to meet people.
"The mindset of a former civil servant will easily lead to approaching familiar faces. The problem Hong Kong faces today is much more complicated. We can't just go to rub shoulders with those kaifong (local neighbourhood) groups or those from the pro-establishment network."
Former Central Policy Unit head Professor Lau Siu-kai said it was inevitable the office could only engage the pro-government sectors.
"The opposition camp simply does not want to talk with the government. They only want the government to fulfil their demands," he said.
"One main function of the new office should be to consolidate the pro-establishment camp's support for the government. Carrie Lam's handling of the extradition bill saga has angered some people in the pro-government camp who think she has been too weak."
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Lam restructured the Central Policy Unit into PICO after she took office in 2017. Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said he did not see the setting up of the new office as progress.
"Society doesn't want a Dialogue Office, but plans for the government to respond to the main demands (of protesters)," Wu said.
Wu also questioned whether the government had a basis for dialogue with the public, following accusations of police brutality against protesters and civilians.
Tik Chi-yuen, chairman of the middle-of-the-road party Third Side, who had proposed a similar idea to Lam during a meeting with her last month, said: "Such a dialogue platform needs a respected, politically neutral community leader to head it and initiate strategies to rebuild public trust in the government. If its role is for liaison only, it will not work.
"The head also needs new thinking, instead of following the usual bureaucracy in the civil service. It is too early to judge if the office will work or not. But it is a right step in the right direction."
Meanwhile, Carrie Lam, attending a reception hosted by the Hong Kong Chinese Importers' and Exporters' Association to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, spoke of the trouble affecting the city.
In a speech, Lam said: "Since the handover, the country has offered Hong Kong considerable support and instilled great confidence in it.
"Although Hong Kong now seems to be experiencing a raging storm, I trust that, with the support of the central government, and the tolerance and understanding of various sectors of society, we are able to overcome the difficulty after sincere dialogue is established between the government and various sectors."
On the gloomy economic outlook resulting from the US-China trade war and the worsening protests, Lam said the government would roll out new measures to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises when necessary, in addition to the package of relief measures announced last month.
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