HONG KONG -- Because Hong Kong's leader tends to view the news media (local or otherwise) with the enthusiasm of a swimmer greeting a school of sharks, Tung Chee-hwa has scant hope of receiving his due as the historically pivotal man he is. His public image is generally terrible, and he is often portrayed in the media as a bumbling politician, the Hamlet of Hong Kong.
In truth, he is a hybrid of unfailing fidelity to his agitated countrymen in Hong Kong (the better to succeed in his job) and his ever-wary Beijing betters (a must in order to keep the job). His is one of the more difficult balancing acts around.
When this culturally conservative Chinese businessman was pressed into duty by Beijing in 1997 as the British governor exited the long-held crown colony, the international press portrayed the first "Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" as the second coming of the Chinese Count Dracula. In fact, Tung possesses all the ferocity of a giant teddy bear and all the commitment to Marxist dogma of the average Hong Kong retailer.