China's decision to shorten the term of Hong Kong's next leader had observers Sunday warning of trouble ahead, saying the move had damaged the city's autonomy and would likely face a legal challenge.
Caretaker chief executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) declared Saturday that a replacement for leader Tung Chee-hwa (董建華), whose early resignation last week triggered a succession debate, would serve only the two years remaining of the out-going leader's term.
The next chief executive will be chosen on July 10 by the city's 800-member Beijing-approved election committee.
Although Tsang said the decision was made by his government, it is widely believed the acting leader was simply doing the bidding for China, which has ruled the territory since its 1997 handover from British colonial rule.
The move has angered many in this southern enclave who say it flouts the Basic Law constitution adopted in 1997, which provides for the chief executive to serve for five years.
"It means that the new chief executive will start off with a term of office that is unconstitutional," wrote the Sunday China Morning Post in an editorial.
"Political expediency has been allowed to prevail over the rule of law," it added. "It is, in this sense, a sad day for Hong Kong."
Tsang's announcement, in his first speech as the acting head of the city of 6.8 million, was described a "U-turn" in the Basic Law by the press.
Media have attached particular significance to the conspiratorial tone of the language used by justice secretary Elsie Leung (梁愛詩) who said the government had "adjusted its understanding" of the law to let the decision pass.
China is believed to prefer a shortened term partly to maintain the election timetable set out by the Basic Law but also because it has no firm favorites to succeed Tung.
While Tsang is thought to be the prime candidate to win selection in July, the veteran civil servant's background as a loyalist of the former British administration has raised concerns among hardliners in the Communist Party.
A short term would give China the chance to test him out before appointing him on a more permanent basis.
Many see Saturday's hasty announcement that forced an unpopular decision on to Hong Kong without offering room for debate.
"It is a hot potato and in doing it this way, Tsang has shown that China just wants to get the matter over and done with," said China watcher Sung Lap-kung of Hong Kong City University.
Sung agreed with legal experts who warn the decision could lead to a constitutional crisis if opponents to a shortened term, including opposition legislators fighting for full democracy here, launched a judicial review.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
Two Belgian teenagers on Tuesday were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate that they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis
DEMONSTRATIONS: A protester said although she would normally sit back and wait for the next election, she cannot do it this time, adding that ‘we’ve lost too much already’ Thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday in New York, Washington and other cities across the US for a second major round of demonstrations against US President Donald Trump and his hard-line policies. In New York, people gathered outside the city’s main library carrying signs targeting the US president with slogans such as: “No Kings in America” and “Resist Tyranny.” Many took aim at Trump’s deportations of undocumented migrants, chanting: “No ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” In Washington, protesters voiced concern that Trump was threatening long-respected constitutional norms, including the right to due process. The
RSS