From the Telegraph:
China had already locked the door to political reform in Hong Kong. Now it is apparently bolting it as well, by prematurely removing the chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, and installing a successor for the next five years under the present, highly restricted franchise. The news, blazoned across Hong Kong newspapers yesterday, has yet to be confirmed. An official announcement is expected on March 13, when Mr Tung is due to be elected to a vice-chairmanship of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee, an advisory body to the National People’s Congress (NPC).
The move bears the hallmark of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. First, he inherited Mr Tung from his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who, during the current session of the NPC, will lose the chairmanship of the Central Military Commission, thus completing his removal from the political scene. Last December, during ceremonies to mark the fifth anniversary of Macau’s return to Chinese sovereignty, Mr Hu publicly upbraided Mr Tung for his poor performance as chief executive.
