Tung Chee Hwa announced Thursday that he has officially
submitted to the central government his request for resigning from
the post as Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region.
He told a press conference that he tendered his resignation for
health reasons just one hour before the opening of the press
conference. My health was obviously not as good as it used to be
because of long time hard work, he said.
He stressed that being responsible for overall interest of Hong
Kong and the nation, he decided to submit his resignation
report.
He expected the central government would consider and accept his
request.
Tung stressed that it is a lifetime pleasure for him to render
service for the nation and Hong Kong at the post of the Chief
Executive. He thanked Hong Kong citizens for their offering of
opportunities and thanked the central government for its trust in
him during his term of office.
Tung also thanked all his colleagues for their support and
encouragement.
He said the overall situation in Hong Kong is good at present
and he is more confident about Hong Kong's prospect of the future
than that when he began to take office as the Chief Executive.
Tung, 67, was elected as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region in December, 1996, and reelected the
second-term Chief Executive in February, 2002.
He was inducted as a member of the 10th National Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Feb. 28,
2005.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2005)
