Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
Tung planned to announce his resignation before flying to Beijing to take over a new post on an elite advisory group to the Chinese legislature, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said yesterday.
Tung avoided reporters waiting outside government headquarters as he went to work yesterday. He has so far refused to directly address the rumors that he would quit two years early. His silence has helped fuel the media frenzy over his future that began last week.
Earlier yesterday, high-ranking Chinese officials in Beijing heaped praise on him in an apparent send-off.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
Zhang Chunxian (
"He's humble. He works very diligently. He has goodwill toward people when he's thinking about problems. He's done everything he can for Hong Kong's development," Zhang told reporters.
Tung, 67, was a shipping magnate with little political experience when he took the job as Hong Kong's chief executive. In recent years, his public approval ratings have been dismal, largely because many think he's indecisive and too cozy with big business.
Hong Kong has never enjoyed full democracy. The British opposed it, and the Chinese have continued to block reforms that would give voters the power to directly elect the chief executive and the entire legislature.
Tung was elected by an 800-member committee dominated by people partial to Beijing. If he resigns, the No.2 ranking official, Donald Tsang (
Also yesterday, pro-democracy lawmakers called for an urgent debate on whether the legislature should demand an explanation of Tung's future. The call was rejected.
Opposition lawmaker and unionist Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) lashed out at the government's silence over the rumors.
"The government is once again turning Hong Kong into an international joke," Lee said.
"The rumor has dragged on for more than a week and the administration neither confirmed nor rejected it. The public is losing their confidence in the government," he said.
Tung's resignation rumors began last week when local media reported that he would be named a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference -- an elite advisory panel to the Chinese legislature. On Tuesday evening, the body nominated Tung to be a vice chairman -- a position usually given to retired leaders. The group is expected to approve the appointment on Saturday.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was