Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying sent his strongest warning yet on June 9 to "Occupy Central" organizers planning a civil disobedience campaign, saying there was "no possibility" it could be lawful or peaceful, and that it would be tolerated by neither the government nor courts.

Fast forward to June 11, and CY's effort to discourage the campaign was undermined by none other than Trade Development Council Chairman Jack So Chak-kwong, who disagreed with "Occupy Central" but thought it would be "just another form of expression of views if it proceeds peacefully".

"I don't see that US companies should worry about the movement," So said. "Occupy Wall Street broke out in 2011, but it was business as usual at the time."

"Business as usual", indeed. What was So referring to - "Occupy Central" on Mars? It was one thing to say nice things to sooth US investors; it was another thing to produce counter-factual utterances. Even if Hong Kong has the "rule of law" and so forth, investors will still flee if our top officials are all ignorant fools.

I am not sure why Jack So had the impression that business was as usual with the Occupy Wall Street movement. He can visit OccupyArrests.com, a website that tracks all the arrests that were made related to the movement, which provides information about the "7,753 arrests in 122 different cities (As of May 21, 2013)."

The New York Times ran the story of "185 Arrested on Occupy Wall St. Anniversary" on September 17, 2012, where it reported that "The police arrested 185 people on Monday as protesters tried to block access to the New York Stock Exchange on the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests."

As such, I have no doubt US investors will be relieved by So's assurance that an "Occupy Central" movement, if it materializes, will be just another Occupy Wall Street.

So also asserted that the "Occupy Central" movement will be "just another form of expression of views if it proceeds peacefully" a couple of days after our CY said there is "no possibility" that it could be peaceful. The two days in between is too long for So not to have noticed CY's remark and prepared accordingly, and too short for him to forget or ignore his boss's stance. Is it gross incompetence, or willful disobedience?

Anyway, the Americans will find the naivete of Hong Kong's officials entertaining. Real statesmen such as our President Xi create stress for them, but people such as Jack So always come with things too good to be true even for American ears. The dissidents would like us to believe that protests in Hong Kong are risk-free, but the consulate general of the United States for Hong Kong & Macao knows better. Its website provides regular security updates, and it is worth the space to quote the latest "Security Message for US Citizens: Demonstrations on 15 June 2013", at length:

"The US Consulate General has been informed that a protest march from Chater Garden to the US Consulate is scheduled to take place in the afternoon on Saturday, June 15 2013. The march is expected to be peaceful, however, Mission personnel are asked to avoid Chater Garden and refrain from coming into the Consulate except for official business.

"Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations."

US politicians and officials may encourage Hong Kong people to go to the streets to "express ourselves", but they always ask their citizens to avoid being there because of the risks involved. We are all very familiar with the US brand of hypocrisy, the latest manifestation of which is the spying episode as exposed by Edward Snowden. That being said, I have no doubt Hong Kong's officials will continue to line up in the US to brag about our freedom, privacy, and security in the cyberspace.

If Jack So talked as he did merely because he was incompetent, I suggest he seeks clearance from CY's office before touching upon sensitive issues like this one. On the other hand, the CE's office should issue a guideline or a standard Q&A to officials and public office holders for important issues such as "Occupy Central" and the coming political reform if only to make some people look less stupid.

The author is a member of the Commission on Strategic Development.

(HK Edition 06/18/2013 page9)