Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee hit the headlines recently with her caution against spending public money lavishly on so-called "mega events" when a number of them end up being not mega at all.
It was no coincidence that her criticism of the Chinese Kung Fu X Dance Carnival has generated so much resonance in the media.
Although Ip was the first public figure to openly question the carnival so strongly, many people have been talking privately about the event with similar sentiments.
Perhaps due to her special role in the administration, the Exco convenor was able to assert her views more readily than the general public.
Ip's criticisms of the funding of mega events - and the kung fu carnival in particular - are valid.
In the Chinese Kung Fu X Dancing Carnival in Tsim Sha Tsui's waterfront, there was no key performance indicator (KPI) to measure the effectiveness of the event, which was supposed to be at least mega enough to justify the HK$14.68 million government subsidy.
What has Ip said on the matter?
She believes there should be at least four components before an event can claim to be mega - the number of visitors it can draw, revenues it can generate from broadcasting rights, the cost of the event itself and the impact it has on the city's infrastructure planning.
That all makes sense.
So, according to her definition, the Olympics in Paris is definitely one such event. Superstar Taylor Swift's world tour would be another.
And Inter Miami's visit to Hong Kong would have also been one if Lionel Messi had not missed the match.
Could the six days of kung fu dancing be considered to be in the same league? The answer is clear: except on the first day when hundreds of players and students were invited to perform, the so-called mega event drew only a handful of viewers, let alone the multi-million-dollar economic impact expected of a true mega event.
Perhaps the next time deputy financial secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun appears before lawmakers he can go equipped with figures explaining the economic impact generated by the kung fu dancing.
More than 100 mega events are being planned for the second half of the year. As the government continues to spend lavish sums to subsidize them, officials must take heed of lessons learned so far.
If they have already learned from Messi, will they also learn from the kung fu dancing?
For the sake of fiscal prudence, it is necessary to introduce a set of KPIs for these mega events before it is too late.
According to the government, a total of HK$192 million of taxpayers' money has been approved for the events since 2023.
While the sum may be small in light of the large fiscal deficit facing the city, it is still necessary to spend the money wisely.
Maybe authorities can start with the four components mentioned by Ip as they try to set up KPIs for the mega events.
But an outstanding question is: despite her role in the Exco, has Ip ever asked those questions in the top policy-making body?
