Caspar Tsui's Exit Prompts Sadness, Understanding

Lawmakers and people who have worked with Caspar Tsui on Monday expressed understanding and sadness over his decision to resign as home affairs secretary after getting caught up in a scandal over a Covid-hit birthday party.

Tsui’s partymate, DAB chairwoman Starry Lee, said she respects his decision, and politically accountable officials must have the courage to bear responsibility for their actions.

Lee added that she hopes Tsui will continue to contribute to society.

Executive councillor and DAB member Ip Kwok-him also said he respects the decision, but felt sadness.

Ip said he believes Tsui had reflected upon himself after the incident, adding that he did not think the saga would affect the relationship between the government and the DAB.

New People's Party lawmaker Regina Ip, meanwhile, said senior officials are held to high standards and Tsui’s resignation was the best solution.

“Senior officials must set a good example. If you don’t follow the rules yourself, how can you expect the people, ordinary people to do the same? So I think it is reasonable for the chief executive to consider that he behaved extremely unfortunately. So I think his voluntary resignation is the best way out,” Ip said.

The vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, Lau Siu-kai, said Tsui had done the “decent” thing by stepping down. He added that Beijing did not want the "partygate" scandal to deepen further and the resignation would help preserve overall stability.

NPC delegate Raymond Tam said he was saddened by Tsui’s resignation, saying it was a big loss for the government.

The former constitutional and mainland affairs secretary said he was honoured to have worked with Tsui since 2008, adding that Tsui had been willing to listen and help and understood Hong Kong and people’s needs.

But lawmaker Michael Tien questioned whether the city’s political accountability system is truly working. He asked why officials who made “policy mistakes”, such as those who failed to end quarantine exemptions for aircrew or prevent suspected child abuse at a foster home, have not been held accountable.

“To me, those instances are as important, if not more important, than Caspar Tsui – whether he had gone against the advice of his boss," Tien said.

"There's a fundamental question that’s bothering Hong Kong people in terms of accountability. Is it on an objective and rational basis depending on the impact on the community? Or is it really based on the wish and desire of the supreme commander?”