Hong Kong Democrats Threaten Battle Over Leadership Succession

Hong Kong will enter uncharted constitutional waters today when its unpopular chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, is expected to announce he is standing down in favour of his deputy, Donald Tsang.

Amid fears that Beijing is engineering the first change of leadership since the British handover of power in 1997, Hong Kong democrats are threatening to challenge the legally hazy process.

Mr Tung, who was chosen by the mainland government to serve as the territory's first post-colonial leader, has more than two years of his term left to run. But he has become a liability to his political masters since July 2003, when half a million people protested against his botched attempt to force through an anti-subversion law.

According to the local media, he has told his cabinet that he will announce his resignation - on the grounds of ill-health - today.

Senior officials in Beijing are setting the stage for a face-saving departure by heaping praise on the outgoing chief executive and appointing him to the largely honorary position of vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Mr Tung's interim replacement would be the chief secretary, Mr Tsang, a professional civil servant who is also thought to be among Beijing's preferred candidates for a long-term successor. Under the Basic Law - the territory's mini-constitution - a new leader must be chosen within six months by the Hong Kong electoral committee, whose 800 unelected members are closely allied to the mainland.

But there is considerable legal uncertainty about the term of office of a leader chosen mid-term, which is not mentioned in the Basic Law.

The senior mainland official for Hong Kong, state councillor Tang Jiaxuan, insisted yesterday that Mr Tung's successor should see out only the remaining two years. But last year, the Hong Kong government told legislators that a replacement would serve a full five-year term.

Democrats and lawyers' groups say Beijing is running roughshod over the autonomy promised to Hong Kong during the handover. Some have called for a judicial review, which could delay the appointment of a successor and spark a constitutional crisis.

The secretary for justice, Elsie Leung Oi-sie, called for calm. "If the chief executive post becomes vacant, I hope the people of Hong Kong would do something proactive, stay united and let others see that Hong Kong people can govern Hong Kong," she said. "Do not do anything damaging to Hong Kong during such an emergency situation."