Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
Beijing hasn't announced whether it would accept Tung's resignation, but it was widely believed that his departure was a carefully scripted event approved by the Chinese Communist Party leaders in advance.
Tung's announcement Thursday put an end to a political guessing game that dragged on for nearly two weeks.
The 67-year-old leader rejected widespread speculation that China was dumping him because of poor leadership. Tung insisted that he was leaving because fatigue was preventing him from keeping up with the long work hours.
Gao Siren (
Today in Beijing, Tung is expected to be named vice chairman on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference -- an elite advisory body to the Chinese legislature. The position is usually reserved for retired leaders.
His Hong Kong job would be temporarily filled by the No. 2 ranking official, Donald Tsang (
Analysts believe Tsang -- a popular career civil servant who has nearly 40 years of experience helping run the government -- will do a better job than his boss.
"He clearly is a more capable ruler than Tung," said James Sung,(
But unlike Tung, Tsang, who has good relations with some leading pro-democracy lawmakers, doesn't yet have Beijing's complete trust, Sung said.
He predicted that China will pressure Tsang to prove his loyalty and be harder on the pro-democracy forces.
China's "central government will likely follow up with more political measures to further clamp down on the political space in Hong Kong," Sung said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
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