Ho says ‘sharing pork barrel’ not his style

Chief Executive candidate Ho Iat Seng has said that sharing “pork barrel” is not part of his personality, stressing that he will do his job fairly.

Ho used the term in Chinese, which is almost identical to its English equivalent, “the pork barrel.” He has also used another term, “pie sharing,” yet another nearly identical pair between English and Chinese.

However, on another occasion, a representative of the Macao Jiangmen Communal Society, Lo Choi In, misunderstood the terms and posed a question to the CE candidate.

Even though she stood with Ho on the matter of pie sharing, she pointed out that a lot of grassroot movements and disadvantaged residents require “the government’s pie” to survive. She hoped the government would maintain its policy of “distributing pies” to these residents — in a reference to the government annual handout.

The CE candidate immediately provided the right definition, stating that “‘pie sharing’ and ‘pork barrel sharing’ imply benefits being allocated to those not deserving of them.” He also suggested the representative endeavor to better understand political terminology.

In addition, Ho said even without “pie sharing,” disadvantaged groups will also be taken care of.

Ho also clarified that he is not planning to overthrow the “social housing first” policy. He will rely on data to make housing policies. AL