Tung Chee Hwa announced Thursday that he has officially submitted to the central government his request for resigning from the post as Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

He told a press conference that he tendered his resignation for health reasons just one hour before the opening of the press conference. My health was obviously not as good as it used to be because of long time hard work, he said.

He stressed that being responsible for overall interest of Hong Kong and the nation, he decided to submit his resignation report.

He expected the central government would consider and accept his request.

Tung stressed that it is a lifetime pleasure for him to render service for the nation and Hong Kong at the post of the Chief Executive. He thanked Hong Kong citizens for their offering of opportunities and thanked the central government for its trust in him during his term of office.

Tung also thanked all his colleagues for their support and encouragement.

He said the overall situation in Hong Kong is good at present and he is more confident about Hong Kong's prospect of the future than that when he began to take office as the Chief Executive.

Tung, 67, was elected as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in December, 1996, and reelected the second-term Chief Executive in February, 2002.

He was inducted as a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on Feb. 28, 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2005)