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Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung)
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Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying also urged lawmakers to stop delaying the passage of the government’s medical reform proposal. Photo: Sam Tsang

CY Leung insists he did not take any part in decision-making to remove ICAC’s Rebecca Li

City’s chief executive keeps mum on claims that Exco secretariat repeatedly denied requests from graft buster as part of probe into HK$50 million payment

Hong Kong’s leader Leung Chun-ying has insisted that he did not take any part in the decision-making to remove a top graft investigator, while declining to comment on claims that the Executive Council secretariat refused requests from the graft buster to obtain evidence for the probe into him.

The chief executive said the government had already issued a statement making clear that he was not involved in the decision-making process to replace Rebecca Li Bo-lan, acting head of the operations department and the first woman to lead the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s powerful investigative unit.

“I did not take part in making the decision. I was informed of the decision after it had been made,” Leung said before an Exco meeting on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan, citing ICAC sources, said investigators had tried repeatedly over the past year, to no avail, to obtain evidence from the Exco secretariat on whether Leung had made a significant declaration about a HK$50 million payment he had received in 2012–13.

That probe centred on whether Leung had disclosed to Exco the HK$50 million payment from Australian firm UGL. Ho cited it as a possible reason for Li’s removal.

Leung said he could not comment on the case, as the law did not allow: the persons being complained against; anyone from the Independent Commission Against Corruption; and any third party to do so.

The chief executive made the remarks the day after ICAC head Simon Peh Yun-lu said he had personally conducted the appraisal for Li, and found that she “failed to met the job requirements”. Peh notified Leung of his decision to terminate Li’s acting appointment, and Leung did not give his views or take part in the decision-making process.

Li, known by colleagues for her “uncompromising” attitude against corruption, was the first ICAC officer to be sent for special training with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2000.

Meanwhile, Leung urged lawmakers on Tuesday to halt their filibustering tactics and let the government’s medical reform proposal, the Medical Registration Bill, pass before the current Legislative Council term ends this week.

He hoped that lawmakers could take into consideration the demands of the city’s patients.

The controversy centres on a government plan to increase the number of appointed lay people on the Medical Council, the doctors’ watchdog, from four to eight.

Officials say this would improve transparency and speed up the handling of complaints. Doctors fear this would allow the council to be dominated by government supporters, undermining the watchdog’s autonomy.

Responding to questions on the case of the five Causeway Bay booksellers, Leung said one of them, Gui Minhai, was not a Hong Kong citizen.

“Gui Minhai is not a Hong Kong citizen. Do you have information to suggest that he is Hong Kong citizen?” Leung asked. “I think his country will handle his case.”

Gui was born in mainland China but later became a naturalised Swedish citizen.

Leung said the government had already written to the central government to express its concern.

A Hong Kong delegation, consisting of Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung and Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok, visited Beijing to meet with top mainland officials earlier this month.

Leung said he hoped that another visit to Beijing would take place soon.

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