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Hong Kong chief: I won't step down
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa has rejected suggestions he should step down, instead promising greater accountability and to consult more with the people. Tung made his pledge a day after the sudden resignation of two top government officials, which plunged Hong Kong further into a deepening political crisis. Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Antony Leung resigned from the government late Wednesday, hours after Security Secretary Regina Ip quit her post. Seeking a fresh start, Tung told reporters he would open up a new round of talks on a controversial national security law that ignited deep anger and fueled massive street protests in the territory. Despite many critics saying the chief executive had lost his ability to govern, Tung ruled out growing calls for him to resign and said he had "never" contemplated quitting. "If I say I will leave my position, it will not be responsible, it will bring more instability," Tung said on Thursday. "In the past six years, I have made mistakes ... I understand people's criticisms, what should my attitude be? I think I should actively face them." The chief executive -- handpicked by China to run Hong Kong after more than 150 years of British colonial rule -- will travel to Beijing on Saturday to discuss the biggest political crisis since the territory returned to Chinese rule. The mounting crisis besieged the government earlier this month when over half a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest a proposed anti-subversion law. The massive turnout shocked the government and forced the administration to delay the law, meant to punish acts considered treason against the Chinese state. Former Security Secretary Ip – who crusaded to have the bill passed -- was a lightening rod for the angry protesters, who feared China would use the new laws to justify arrests of people who voice unpopular opinions. Leung, on the other hand, had been under pressure for several months to resign over a tax scandal involving the purchase of a luxury car. Prosecutors are considering criminal charges against Leung, who bought the car shortly before his department raised Hong Kong's automobile taxes. Despite Thursday's pledge, the heat is set to stay on Tung Critics say the chief executive is out of touch and indecisive while analysts say his future doesn't look bright. "Even though he has accomplished this minor cabinet reshuffle, there will be further calls for Tung himself to resign, and also for a one-person-one-vote election of the next chief executive by the year 2007" says CNN Senior China Analyst Willy Lam. Although limited elections are held in Hong Kong for legislature, ordinary people don't choose the chief executive, even though he makes most of crucial policy decisions for them. Pressure is now mounting on China to allow voters to decide who gets to rule Hong Kong. -- CNN Correspondent Andrew Brown contributed to this report
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