Tung Chee-hwa bows to pressure

HONG KONG - Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, whose unpopular leadership sparked huge pro-democracy demonstrations, resigned last night.

The first and only Chief Executive Hong Kong has had since the handover to Chinese rule in 1997, Mr Tung said he was stepping down because of poor health.

But Beijing has become increasingly concerned that Mr Tung's weak leadership was strengthening demands for democracy in Hong Kong.

Mr Tung denied he was forced out by China. "That is not the case at all," he said in reply to a question.

"My health has been deteriorating. My doctor has told me if you keep on doing this continuously it will not be good for you. You must change the way you work.

Sources said Beijing had accepted Tung's resignation and would appoint his deputy, Chief Secretary Donald Tsang, to serve out the remainder of his five-year term that ends in mid-2007.

Mr Tung's fate was apparently sealed in December when Chinese President Hu Jintao scolded him in public for poor performance in an unprecedented rebuke, analysts said.

Analysts believe Beijing will also keep Mr Tsang on a tight leash, with little hope for any significant political reforms during his term in office, let alone full democracy.

Mr Tung began his tenure enjoying the goodwill of Hong Kong residents, but the public quickly turned against him when Asia's financial crisis triggered the first of three recessions that Beijing's hand-picked man seemed powerless to prevent.

Unable to vote him out of office, huge demonstrations in 2003 and 2004 demanded the right to elect their own leaders.

The pro-democracy protests shocked communist leaders in Beijing, who feared they could spread to mainland China, and encouraged them to tighten their grip on the city.

- additional reporting REUTERS