• February 16, 2012, 6:17 PM HKT

Wine-Lover Tang Probed in Race for Hong Kong’s Top Job

Hong Kong chief executive hopeful Henry Tang late Thursday admitted that the basement of his family home was built illegally, but cast the blame squarely on his wife for commissioning the modification work and apologized for mishandling the incident.

Associated Press

Members of the media take pictures and videos of the home of former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang, one of the potential candidates in the upcoming Chief Executive election in Hong Kong Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012.

“Building the basement was my wife’s decision, though I was aware that the basement was illegal,” Mr. Tang told reporters in a news conference accompanied by Lisa Tang, his wife of 27 years.

Despite facing the biggest setback yet in his campaign, the former number 2 government official said he will remain in the race for the top job, urging the public to give him a chance to start afresh to demonstrate his abilities and commitment to Hong Kong’s future.

But Mr. Tang’s plea comes just weeks before the chief executive elections, and as he works hard to boost poll ratings. Reports surfaced this week of illegal building works at his family home, spurring a media frenzy for more details.

A handful of mobile cranes earlier Thursday squeezed into a narrow street in the upscale Kowloon Tong neighborhood, lifting photographers and television crews for a bird’s eye view of the house, while other journalists climbed the stone walls for a better look inside. The highly unusual (and chaotic) scene underscores the level of public interest in Mr. Tang, who some academics and China watchers say is Beijing’s preferred candidate for Hong Kong’s next leader.

Mr. Tang has for months sought to build up support after admitting in October to having “flaws” in his married life, just weeks before he officially announced his candidacy. On Thursday he attributed his bad handling of the illegal basement—built after the house’s 2007 completion—to the earlier problems in his marriage.

“At the time we were at the depths of our marital problems, and thus we weren’t communicating with one another very well…and I didn’t actively deal with the (basement) issue,” he said.

Earlier television footage showed two glass panels at the bottom of the swimming pool, indicating the presence of a basement, which isn’t in the approved building plans for the house. A tabloid newspaper late Wednesday published a floorplan that purports to show a 2,400 square foot basement for the house featuring a large wine cellar, multipurpose theater and even a Japanese-style bath. It is worth noting that Mr. Tang is best known for his love of fine wines and a large wine collection.

Officials from Hong Kong’s Building Authority late Thursday confirmed the presence of an illegally-built basement—measuring 19 meters by 11 meters—following an inspection of the property.

Mr. Tang had earlier downplayed the reports, saying that a storeroom was built beneath the swimming pool. He said late Wednesday he had “no recollection of seeing any floorplans” for the basement in reference to the tabloid article, and explained that his family members, not him, have been in charge of building the house, which was completed in 2007.

The developments threaten to derail the 59-year-old’s campaign. The son of a successful textiles businessman, Mr. Tang continues to trail behind his opponent, former senior government advisor C.Y. Leung,in opinion poll ratings. Though the city’s leader is chosen only by a 1,200-member committee consisting mainly of people backed by Chinese authorities, public opinion nonetheless plays an important role in influencing China’s decisions for the city, given a population prone to frequent protests. The city has been promised popular elections for chief executive from 2017. Both Messrs Tang and Leung have long been groomed by China to eventually lead Hong Kong, so analysts say either candidate could ultimately get the central government’s blessing.

What is more, the leader of Hong Kong’s pro-business and Beijing-friendly Liberal Party, which has been giving its full support to Mr. Tang, said earlier Thursday the party could reconsider its backing for the candidate amid this “credibility issue.”

To be sure, the problems involving illegal structures and modifications in Hong Kong are widespread, given high land prices and cumbersome regulations to make structural changes. A number of senior officials and tycoons have in recent months been found to have illegal building works, though the punishments for such infractions are light under current laws. The government has pledged to beef up oversight of such building works.

As such, Mr. Tang may just be required to demolish the structure and won’t likely face further legal troubles, but this will no doubt cast a shadow on his campaign, and his hopes to become Hong Kong’s next leader.