Donald Tsang

Donald Tsang Yam Kuen GBM JP KBE (Chinese: 曾蔭權) (born 1944) is Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong SAR. He is currently serving as acting Chief Executive following Tung Chee Hwa's resignation on March 12, 2005. He has been dubbed Bow-Tie Tsang because of his habit of wearing a bow tie.

Mr Tsang is married with two sons. His younger brother, Tsang Yam-pui, was the Police Commissioner of Hong Kong until December 2003, and had been a career policeman who worked his way through the ranks from inspector. He is a devout Roman Catholic.

Early life

Tsang was born in Hong Kong in October, 1944. His late father was a policeman with two sons, Donald being the elder of the two. After completing his secondary education from Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, in 1964 he worked briefly as a salesman before joining the civil service.

Civil service

He joined the civil service in January 1967, since when he has held many positions ranging from finance and trade to policies relating to the transfer by the UK of Hong Kong's sovereignty to the People's Republic of China.

From 1981 to 1982 Tsang studied in the United States, where he completed a Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. He has also received honorary doctorates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong.

He was attached to the Asian Development Bank in Manila in 1977 for a year and worked on water supply and railway development projects in the Philippines and Bangladesh.

As Deputy Secretary of the General Duties Branch between 1985 and 1989, he was responsible for the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the promotion of the "British Nationality Selection Scheme". He served as Director-General of Trade between 1991 and 1993, and was responsible for all facets of trade negotiation and administration affecting Hong Kong. In May 1993, he was promoted to Secretary for the Treasury, where he was responsible for the overall allocation of resources, the taxation system and the cost effectiveness of the Hong Kong government.

In September 1995, he was appointed Financial Secretary, the first Chinese to hold the position. He was created a Knight Commander in the Order of the British Empire in 1997 for his long-time service to Hong Kong, and was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal by the Hong Kong government in June 2002. Despite the bestowment of the knighthood and the right to be addressed as 'Sir', Tsang does not use his knighthood title in public.

During his six-year tenure, he steered Hong Kong through the Asian financial crisis that swept across the region in 1997 and 1998. He worked with Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and waged war on the speculators attacking the Hong Kong currency peg.

On May 1, 2001, former Chief Secretary Anson Chan resigned her post, citing personal reasons. Tung then appointed Tsang to become deputy leader and invited a civil service outsider, Antony Leung, to take up the post of Financial Secretary.

As Chief Secretary, Tsang ranked second to the then Chief Executive of Hong Kong Tung Chee Hwa, advising him on matters of policy and deputising for him during his absence. He was also a member of the Tung's inner cabinet, the Executive Council, which is also the highest policy-making body in Hong Kong. He assumed the post of acting Chief Executive when Tung's resignation was approved by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China on March 12, 2005.

Serving as acting chief executive (Current)

Main artice: Tung Chee Hwa's resignation

According to Article 53 of the Basic Law, if the Chief executive resigns, the Chief Secretary will assume the duty as acting Chief Executive for a maximum of six months. At 17:30 (HKT) on March 10, 2005 in Hong Kong, Tung Chee Hwa announced his resignation due to "health problems". The resignation was endorsed by the Central People's Government on March 12, which also confirmed Tsang as Acting Chief Executive. Tsang then assumed power as head of the Hong Kong government, where he is now busy preparing for the new Chief Executive's election. There is ample evidence that Beijing has already endorsed Tsang as the new Chief Executive and that he will be elected unopposed by the 800 members of the Election Committee on May 5th 2005. However, a recent "interpretation" of the Basic Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has made it clear that Tsang will only serve out the remaining two years of Tung Chee Hwa's term, rather than the full five years originally mooted. In 2007, he will doubtless seek such a full five year term, but whether or not he is successful depends very much on his performance before then and whether he remains in good odour with the central authorities.

Tsang formerly styled himself Sir Donald Tsang KBE though, like many other prominent local Chinese honoured by the Colonial government, he has not used his title since the handover.

See also

• Politics of Hong Kong

External link

• http://www.info.gov.hk/info/cs.htm