Popular top-ranking Hong Kong civil servant Mrs Anson Chan Fang On-sang has resigned, and will probably be replaced by Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
While the timing was unexpected, there have been persistent rumours that Anson Chan was planning to step down. Given her record, her popularity and her stature, Mrs Chan could have expected the job of Chief Executive when the new administration was created in 1997, and was thought to have been disappointed when pipped for the post by Tung Chee-hwa. Speculation at the time was that Beijing thought Mrs Chan to have been too closely allied with Chris Patten.
Working relationships between Mrs Chan and Tung Chee-hwa are said to have been uncomfortable, and marked recently by frequent, sharp disagreements.
Anson Chan's difficult visit to Beijing last September is thought to have marked a turning point, when she was publicly instructed to give better support to Tung Chee-hwa - observers noted that Donald Tsang was summoned to Beijing immediately after Mrs Chan's return. There is speculation that Mrs Chan eventually told the Beijing leadership to choose between her and Chief Adviser Andrew Lo Cheung-on. (All senior appointments in the Hong Kong administration are made direct by the Beijing government.)
Anson Chan is known as a determined, forceful character, and has often said that she would not do anything against her conscience. She is leaving half-way through a three-year contract. Mrs Chan would not comment on arriving at work this morning, but is expected to give a joint press briefing with Tung Chee-hwa on Friday afternoon.
The South China Morning Post today speculates that Mrs Chan may be offered the chairmanship of the joint venture running Hong Kong Disneyland or the vice-chancellorship of the University of Hong Kong. The newspaper thinks that Mrs Chan's early resignation is aimed at helping Tung Chee-hwa get a new team in place before next year, when he is widely expected to run for another five-year term.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment