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Tung Chee Hwa elected CPPCC vice chairman
Tung Chee Hwa, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), was elected vice chairman of China's top political advisory body on Saturday. At the closing meeting of the third annual full session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Saturday afternoon, the 2,110 CPPCC members present elected Tung to the new post by an overwhelming majority. Tung, 67, announced in Hong Kong Thursday that he had officially submitted to the central government his request for resignation from the post as chief executive of the HKSAR for health reasons.
State Council approves Tung Chee Hwa's resignation On the plenary meeting, the participants discussed Tung's resignation report and listened to a report on the related issues made by Liao Hui, director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. Premier Wen made a keynote speech at the plenary meeting and spoke highly of Tung's contribution to the development of HKSAR. He noted that Tung Chee Hwa has done a great deal of work with creativeness in implementation of the principles of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and high-degree of autonomy. Premier Wen said Tung led HKSAR government to fully implement the Basic Law, administrated the government in accordance with law,united all the Hong Kong people, and conquered various difficulties and challenges caused by Asian financial crisis and changes in world economic environment. Tung properly handled a series of key political, economic and social problems, and maintained the stable and prosperous situation of Hong Kong, said Wen. Since Tung took his office as chief executive of HKSAR, he has performed his duties faithfully, always being clean and honest, enduring all hardship, and taking pleasure in his dedication and sacrifice to his work. "The central government has full acknowledgment to the work done by Tung Chee Hwa and the HKSAR government," said Wen. On deliberation, Tung Chee Hwa decided to resign from his post as the HKSAR chief executive, and submitted the resignation report to the State Council on March 10. What he did has embodied his highly responsibility attitude toward Hong Kong and the nation, he said. Wen Jiabao said that through serious deliberation and discussion, the State Council approved Tung Chee Hwa's resignation as the chief executive of the HKSAR. In line with Article 45 and Annex I of the Basic Law of HKSAR of the People's Republic of China, the Chief Executive shall be elected within six months and then appointed by the Central People's Government. Wen said the central government will unswervingly implement the principles of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and high degree of autonomy, strictly adhere to the Basic Law and give full support to the HKSAR Chief Executive and the government to administrate by law and to boost Hong Kong's stability, prosperity and development. Those who were present at the plenary meeting of the State Council included Vice- Premier Huang Ju, Wu Yi, Zeng Peiyan and Hui Liangyu; State Councilor Zhou Yongkang, Cao Gangchuan, Tang Jiaxuan, Hua Jianmin and Chen Zhili and other members to the plenum. Tung Chee Hwa was elected vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on the third session of the 10th CPPCC National Committee on March 12. Premier Wen Jiabao then signed Decree No. 433 of the State Council to approve Tung's resignation. Tung will leave his post as HKSAR chief executive on March 12, 2005, the decree says.
Tung feels honored for being elected vice chairman of CPPCC Tung Chee Hwa said Saturday that he felt "greatly honored" to become a vice chairman of CPPCC. "I feel greatly honored. I will work hard to serve the country on my new post," said Tung while meeting the press shortly after the State Council approved his resignation. He thanked the Central Government for approving his resignation after taking into account his actual conditions, and for the support the Central Government had given him and Hong Kong during his office tenure. "I also want to thank once again the citizens of Hong Kong and my colleagues in the HKSAR government for their support," he said. Tung expressed the hope that all the Hong Kong citizens would give full support to Donald Tsang, now acting chief executive of the HKSAR, and the SAR government. Calling Tsang his "old colleague in many years", Tung said he firmly believed that Tsang was of superb competence and would leadHong Kong to keep going ahead. Tung's contribution to HK hailed Shortly after the conclusion of the CPPCC session, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region sent a congratulatory message on Tung's election, speaking highly of his contribution to Hong Kong and his "sterling character". "Over the past seven years and more, you have led the HKSAR government to exercise governance in accordance with the Basic Law, try your utmost to seek the maximal interests and benefits for the Hong Kong citizens, actively promote closer links and cooperation between Hong Kong and the inland regions, advocate the concepts of state and nation, safeguard the law-conferred democracy, freedom and human rights of the Hong Kong residents, and preserve the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong," says the message. "Your sterling character of performing your duties faithfully, always being clean and honest, enduring all hardship and humiliations, and taking pleasure in dedication and sacrifice has won you respect and praises from all walks of life in Hong Kong, the inland regions of the motherland as well as the international community," it adds. The election of Tung to the vice chairmanship of the CPPCC has shown the "full acknowledgment" by the motherland and the people of his "pioneering work and historical contribution" in the successful practice of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong, and has manifested "a high level of attention" the central authorities have been paying to the HKSAR, it says.
Tung Chee Hwa's resignation report to State Council
Tung Chee Hwa says in his report he had been thinking about leaving his post as chief executive of the HKSAR since the third quarter in 2004. On one hand, Hong Kong's economy has shown a good momentum of revival and posed a relatively stable growth trend, with political and social situation becoming gradually stabilized, says the report. "On the other hand, my health is obviously not as good as it used to be," he says. "Being responsible for Hong Kong and the nation, after careful deliberation, I now officially submit to the central government my request for resignation from the post as the HKSAR chief executive," Tung says. Tung sincerely requested that the central government would consider and approve his resignation, the report says.. At the beginning of the report, Tung said on March 8, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council transferred to him a notice of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) about the nomination of him as a candidate of the vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee. Tung Chee Hwa profile
Born in Shanghai on May, 1937, Tung moved to Hong Kong with his family. He studied in Britain and graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering. He then worked for General Electric and his family business in the United States before returning to Hong Kong in 1969 to join the family business. Tung became a member of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Consultative Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR in 1985. In 1992, he became one of the first group of advisors on Hong Kong affairs. He served as a member of Executive Council of Hong Kong between 1992 and 1996 and vice chairman of the Hong Kong SAR Preparatory Committee of the National People's Congress in 1995. On December 11, 1996, Tung won by a wide margin the first election of the chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR of the PRC. He was formally appointed by the State Council on December 16, 1996 and assumed office as the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR on July 1, 1997 for a five-year term. Tung was re-elected as the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive on February 28, 2002 with the nomination by 714 of the 794 Electoral Committee members. He was a member of the eighth CPPCC National Committee, and was inducted as a member into the tenth CPPCC National Committee in February 2005. |
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Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with
Tung Chee Hwa, former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, in Beijing in this picture taken on March 5, 2005.
[Xinhua] 
Tung Chee Hwa, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (SAR), was elected vice chairman of the 10th National
Committee of the Chinese People 's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
Saturday at the closing meeting of the top advisory body's annual session.
