Talk about an honest politician...

So... Paul Tse, a pro-Beijing politician in Hong Kong, openly admitted on a TV show yesterday that he was supported by the Liaison Office, which is indirectly admitting that he has CCP (Chinese Communist Party) approval.

Here's a quick introduction to Paul: Although pro-government, he's a well-known attention-seeker and is easily the weirdest politician in the city. He:
-Dressed up in his underwear to carry that message that protection by the law is a birthrright
-Voted against minimum wage (nearly every other politician, whether pro-Beijing, pan-democratic, or pro-business, voted 'yes')
-Suggested impeaching Donald Tsang, the last Chief Executive, after several scandals. The only other supporters of impeachment were the radical anti-government legislators.
-After 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung (one of the radicals I mentioned above) was imprisoned, Paul motioned to strip of of his Legislative Council seat... then voted against the motion
-and lots more.

This time, he's being even weirder than before. He admitted that the Liaison Office, which is virtually the CCP's office in Hong Kong, has helped him canvass for votes. He also said he would never 'completely surrender' to the CCP (so has he 'partially surrendered'?)

If you follow Hong Kong political news, you've probably heard of the McCarthyism that anti-government legislators constantly hurl at each other. (Even among the anti-government politicians, Hong Kong is pretty partisan.) For example, People Power still frequently accuses the Democratic Party of 'surrendering' to the CCP after their compromise with the Liaison Office on the political reforms of 2010, while the Democratic Party accused People Power of being funded by pro-CCP people to put up big adverts. If only the anti-government politicians were as honest.

Speaking of the Democratic Party, they just filed a complaint against Tse to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Although honesty is the best policy, it does not seem to be paying back for Tse...

I wonder if Western politicians have been equally honest about their ties to Freemasonry?

News references:
Pro-government newspaper Sing Pao: www.singpao.com...
Relatively neutral newspaper Sing Tao: news.sina.com.hk...
Usually-neutral-but-has-turned-somewhat-pro-Leung newspaper Ming Pao: hk.news.yahoo.com... 8A%E5%88%B0%E5%BB%89%E7%BD%B2%E6%8A%95%E8%A8%B4-210422132.html
Anti-government pro-US newspaper Apple Daily: hkm.appledaily.com...

There is no such thing as an "honest politician". They rant their entire careers about human liberty and different ways to achieve it, yet spend their lives making rules and regulations so they can force others who don't agree with them to live as they see fit.

Politicians are liars every time they open their mouths. Every single one of them, even the ATS community's precious Ron Paul. But the fact that you're referencing a Chinese politician in a discussion of honest public discourse just made me laugh outright.

Edit: Well obviously you'd be referencing a Chinese politician because it appears you live in Hong Kong. My apologies for the contentious and assuming remark. But still, getting a dose of what appears to be transparency doesn't for one second imply "honesty". Perhaps I'm caught up on semantics...

"Honest politician" is an oxymoron in any country. The fact that this politician as described in the OP, has revealed some questionable political behaviours makes me more inclined to believe that he is hiding, perhaps far worse, ones.

Sounds like he uses gimicks as part of his campaigning...

Originally posted by MDDoxs
"Honest politician" is an oxymoron in any country. The fact that this politician as described in the OP, has revealed some questionable political behaviours makes me more inclined to believe that he is hiding, perhaps far worse, ones.

Sounds like he uses gimicks as part of his campaigning...

It could that there's something more, but I can't imagine any. At least on the surface, admitting his CCP ties is about as career-damaging as it gets. He's not a DAB or FTU member (Beijing can usually secure votes for DAB and FTU politicians with Lau Kong-wah being a recent exception), so he relies on 'honest' votes and all Beijing can do is (as he said) canvassing for him. Younger Hongkongers tend to despise the CCP, while older Hongkongers prefer politicians who do 'actual' things in the District Council first (like building a bridge for them or something), which Paul has never done. He's essentially throwing away votes and his career. Not to mention that there's a good chance that the ICAC will investigate, especially if he isn't in the right 'camp' (not sure if he is).

Politicians are nearly never honest, I agree, but when they are, there usually is a reason, and I don't see any here.