Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji signed State Council decree No.347 yesterday appointing Tung Chee-hwa chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) for a second term.
Tung was re-elected Hong Kong SAR chief executive on February 28 and was nominated by 714 of the 794 Election Committee members. He will assume his second term of office on July 1, 2002.
Zhu praised Tung for his efforts in implementing the "one country, two systems" and the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law in his first term.
Tung won by a wide margin his first election as chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR of the People's Republic of China back in 1996.
He was formally appointed by the central government on December 16, 1996 and assumed office as the first chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR on July 1, 1997 for a five-year term.
Since taking office, he has been widely acclaimed for having successfully implemented "one country, two systems" and ensuring its smooth transition.
He has worked to improve people's standards of living by embarking on a series of policy initiatives and investing vigorously in education, infrastructure and employment, experts said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2002)
