When Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen highlighted his family ties to the police and the police chief promised to lead talks on higher pay for his officers, prompting police unions to scrap a protest march today, it said much about the state of Hong Kong's governance.
Mr Tsang's impassioned plea, and the 11th-hour intervention of Police Commissioner Tang King-shing, came after ministers and Mr Tang's top aides had tried in vain to persuade police unions not to take their grievances to the streets.
A union spokesman said after the shelving of the march on Thursday that as many as 5,000 officers had been planning to protest today. Police unions had previously predicted a turnout of 2,000.
The writing is on the wall.
The authority and image of the administration will take a beating if the police, seen as a symbol of stability, take to the streets to fight for their cause. Superficially, a crisis has been averted, at least for now. The reality is that it is a crisis deferred, and a fresh time bomb has been planted.
At the centre of the controversy is the government's alleged delay in acting on the findings seven months ago of a review of the police grades structure. If the proposals contained in the report were implemented, one in three police officers would get a pay rise. With the economic downturn beginning to take its toll on people's livelihoods, the government has decided to tread carefully to avoid the risk of a popular backlash.
Faced with pressure from police unions, the Civil Service Bureau has promised to submit a report to the Executive Council by October, but has made no commitment on the recommendations.
