Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
Tung told members of his Cabinet and other key officials on Monday that he had decided to resign and had discussed his departure with China's leaders, the South China Morning Post reported, citing one of the Cabinet members.
"He said he is resigning because he is tired and his health is not good," the paper quoted the Cabinet minister as saying, adding that Tung had not yet formally tendered his resignation.
Tung, who has so far made no official comment on his early resignation reported by Hong Kong and international media last week, said the time was right to step down because the economy was rebounding, the Post reported.
The embattled leader met senior aides in a steady stream of meetings throughout Monday, including his deputy Donald Tsang (
A Chinese-language newspaper, the Sing Pao Daily News, reported Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) will formally announce his acceptance of Tung's resignation on Saturday.
Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said Donald Tsang will take over Tung's duties as of Monday.
Opposition politicians, meanwhile, declared the delay in announcing Tung's resignation an embarrassment, saying it made Hong Kong a laughing stock.
"How can anyone take this seriously, it's just ridiculous," said lawmaker Emily Lau (
Lau said keeping Hong Kong in the dark over the future of its political leader was disrespectful.
It also undermined the autonomy granted Hong Kong by China when it took control of the city at the end of British colonial rule in 1997, she said.
"Beijing has definitely moved from the side of the stage to center stage," Lau said. "This is not good for our future autonomy."
In Beijing on Monday, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan (
Tang, the most senior Chinese official yet to comment on Tung's reported resignation, said any successor would only complete the two years left in Tung's term and not the full five years of a chief executive's term.
The two-year arrangement is likely to spark concern among analysts and democrats who say it would suggest China intends tightening its control over the territory.
Tung's resignation had been mooted since July 2003 when more than 500,000 people marched in protest at an unpopular anti-subversion law proposed by China. The rally sparked a political crisis from which he never recovered.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS