Hong Kong's leader said in his first public address yesterday that the city's move toward full democracy should be gradual and orderly, but he stopped short of giving a timeline for political reforms.
Donald Tsang (曾蔭權), who took office four months ago, reminded the public that Beijing still has a major say in the city's affairs and that keeping a good relationship with the Communist leadership was important to economic growth and political change.
"We and our mainland compatriots are of the same blood," Tsang said. "We share a common interest and destiny. We ride on the same boat."
Minutes before the speech, radical Legislator Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄), nicknamed "Long Hair," was kicked out of the legislature for wearing a gold cape and accusing Tsang of being a self-appointed emperor.
Tsang hasn't pushed hard for full democracy for the former British colony. And the lack of full democracy galls many Hong Kongers, who argue that the city -- one of Asia's most affluent, stable and literate societies -- is ready for universal suffrage.
In his speech yesterday, Tsang said that a taskforce was studying constitutional reforms aimed at creating greater democracy. But he provided no timeline for the political changes.
"Our constitutional development should be taken forward in a gradual and orderly manner toward the ultimate objective of universal suffrage," he said.
After his speech, he said at a news conference that Hong Kong's political system has its faults.
"It is far from perfect. We realize it. This is an interim step. We realize it and we have a destination of universal suffrage," he said. "That is a national policy. We are marching toward that final policy. The important thing is that we're always on the move."
Tsang took over as chief executive in June, replacing the unpopular Tung Chee-hwa (
Tsang, a former finance minister and Tung's right hand man, has been savvier than his predecessor, who was viewed as aloof and insensitive to the needs of the public. Tsang has mixed more with the public and has been more accessible to the media -- which Tung frequently ignored.
Tsang used his speech to hit on several of his administration's themes: building a more responsive government, creating greater social harmony, cleaning the city's polluted skies, retraining workers and stoking economic growth by becoming more competitive.
"Strong government is a prerequisite for economic development," Tsang said.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
RSS