Hong Kong Gets Chance to Heal Division as Leader Steps Aside
- Leung decides not to seek second term as chief executive
- Tenure marked by protests over China’s stewardship of city
Why Hong Kong’s Leader Won’t Seek Second Term
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The surprise decision by Hong Kong’s top leader to not seek a second term in office opened the way for a chief executive who might bridge some differences in a city riven by tensions over perceived interference by China.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying told reporters outside his offices Friday that family concerns required him to step aside when his five-year term ends in June, saying they would “suffer intolerable stress due to my electioneering.” Leung dismissed questions about whether unrest and his low popularity rating had cost him support with the Chinese government, which controls leadership elections in the former British colony.