Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥), yesterday announced plans to seek the chief executive’s post, a move buoyed by perceptions that she is the person China prefers to lead a territory wracked by political turmoil.
Lam, 59, said she yesterday told Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) that she would step down and seek his job, if Beijing approved.
“There is only one reason for me to resign at this juncture,” Lam told reporters. “I intend to prepare to contest the upcoming chief executive election.”
Lam has long enjoyed strong approval ratings in the former British colony, despite steadfast support for her Beijing-backed and unpopular boss, who last month decided not to pursue a second five-year term. That reputation makes her the favorite to succeed Leung in a March vote by a 1,200-member election committee dominated by China loyalists.
The next chief executive would face sharp divisions over Chinese rule and whether the Chinese Communist Party is backsliding on its post-colonial promise to maintain the territory’s autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework.
Leung’s approach has been blamed for inflaming tensions, including his refusal to meet with student leaders behind mass protests in 2014 and ongoing efforts to oust as many as six opposition members from the Hong Kong Legislative Council, some of whom have advocated independence.
While Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang (曾俊華), 65, has also tendered his resignation to mull a run, the central government has not yet accepted it. Other candidates include lawmaker Regina Ip (葉劉淑儀), 66, a former security minister, and a former judge, Woo Kwok-hing (胡國興).
A Chinese University of Hong Kong poll of 1,024 residents published yesterday by the South China Morning Post found that more than 45 percent of respondents said that Lam had the best chance of winning the election, compared with 19.9 percent for Tsang.
However, Tsang was the most popular contestant in a hypothetical five-way race including former Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang (曾鈺成), who has not announced a bid, with 27.6 percent support for John Tsang versus 23.2 percent for Lam.
In four years as Leung’s top deputy, she has garnered a reputation for championing China’s policy goals without inspiring the same animosity from the opposition.
Lam said she would go on leave starting today.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
VIOLATION OF NORMS: China’s CCTV broadcast claimed that Beijing could use Interpol to issue arrest warrants, which the MAC slammed as an affront to order The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for attempts to intimidate Taiwanese through “transnational repression.” The council issued the remarks after state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) yesterday during a news broadcast aired a video targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), threatening him with “cross-border repression” and saying: “Stop now, or you will be next,” in what Taipei officials said was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the broader Taiwanese public. The MAC in a statement condemned the threat, accusing Beijing of trying to instill fear and self-censorship among Taiwanese and
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