‘No plan’ to quit before budget, Hong Kong finance chief says, keeping tight-lipped about joining chief executive race
John Tsang Chun-wah fends off questions from press after apparent endorsement by former financial secretary Antony Leung
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary remained tight-lipped on his possible candidacy in the coming chief executive race, refusing to be pinned down on whether he would quit before or after delivering the budget.
Leung, himself a dark horse in the chief executive race, had said this was a quality the city’s next leader should have.
Tsang is due to deliver his 10th, and possibly final, budget in February next year, before the chief executive election in March.
When a reporter asked if Tsang intended to quit before then so that he could run for chief executive, the financial minister immediately dismissed the suggestion, saying he had no such plans.
Asked if that meant he would not seek candidacy, Tsang again replied, “I do not have such plans,” repeating the answer for a third time when questioned if he would have plans in the future.
The 65-year-old has been seen as the strongest challenger to incumbent Leung Chun-ying, who is widely expected to seek a second term in office even though he – like Tsang – has remained tight-lipped about his intentions.