Chastened by angry street protests, embattled leader Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) admitted yesterday he'd made mistakes and asked for a second chance, promising to listen more to ordinary Hong Kong citizens about an anti-subversion bill that fueled their uproar.
Nevertheless, the political crisis facing his administration deepened with record unemployment figures announced less than 24 hours after two Cabinet members quit.
PHOTO: AP
Tung, who is not popularly elected and who reports to China, heads to Beijing tomorrow to explain the unfolding drama to the central government while critics at home clamor for him to step down -- as his security chief and financial secretary did Wednesday.
Tung sought a fresh start at a news conference yesterday, ruling out suggestions that he resign but promising greater accountability.
He said he had been left "sleepless" by the rally that brought a half-million people to the streets July 1 to denounce an anti-subversion bill, demanded by Beijing, but slammed by critics here who say it would seriously erode Hong Kong's Western-style freedoms of speech and assembly.
"I was left sleepless the whole night," Tung said. "The public reminded me to adopt a more humble, sincere attitude to address their demands."
"In the past six years, I have made mistakes," Tung said. "I understand people's criticisms and discontent toward me. But faced with such criticisms, what should my attitude be? I think I should actively face them and make improvements."
Tung's political crisis has become a test of the "one country, two systems" model that China promised for Hong Kong when it was returned by Britain in 1997. The system has constitutional guarantees that Hong Kong people can enjoy Western-style civil liberties unheard of in mainland China but also requires the anti-subversion legislation that stirred the crisis here.
Critics say Tung has lost the ability to govern, but that Beijing authorities are unlikely to seek to remove him now.
"It's still not time for Tung to resign," said Ivan Choy of the City University of Hong Kong. "Beijing needs time to make decisions. If you have a political vacuum, it will take time to fill. Even if he tries to resign, I think Beijing would advise him not to do so."
A bad economy is aggravating matters. The fallout from Hong Kong's recent SARS outbreak has pushed pushed unemployment to a record 8.6 percent in the three months ending June 30, officials said yesterday.
Tung has yet to say how he will replace Secretary for Security Regina Ip (
Secretary of Economic Development and Labor Stephen Ip will replace Leung on an acting basis. There has been no word on a new security chief.
Ip was the key figure pushing the anti-subversion bill, although she said she quit for personal reasons. Leung stood down following revelations he could face criminal charges for buying a luxury car shortly before raising auto taxes, saving thousands of dollars.
Stocks fell on Leung's departure, with traders waiting to see whether Hong Kong's government can get back on track. The Hang Seng index lost 1.1 percent on the day.
Independent commentator Christine Loh said that removing Tung would present constitutional problems -- unless he dies or becomes ill.
Hong Kong has no way to fire a chief executive who has lost credibility, and Beijing would be reluctant to intervene in such a dramatic fashion, she said.
"It's a problem for Hong Kong and Beijing," Loh said. "Neither of us can move."
If Tung stays on, he needs to bring in fresh blood.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of