Rafael Hui Named Hong Kong’s No. 2 Leader
Thu Jun 30, 4:54 AM ET
China announced Thursday that Hong Kong’s new No. 2 leader is Rafael Hui, a veteran civil servant who pledged to focus on economic development, creating jobs and making the government more efficient.
Hui, whose expertise is in financial affairs, takes over from Donald Tsang, a popular career technocrat who last week assumed the title of chief executive — the territory’s highest political post.
As the chief secretary for administration, Hui will be responsible for overseeing the government’s daily affairs.
Hui’s appointment wraps up a leadership shake-up triggered in March when the former chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, quit, citing fatigue and failing health. Many believe that was just an excuse and that the unpopular Tung was dumped by Beijing with two years left in his term.
Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing has played a big role in appointing the leaders of Hong Kong, which is supposed to enjoy a wide-degree of autonomy under a "one country, two systems" formula. The city’s voters can’t directly elect their leader, and they can only chose half the 60-seat legislature.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 