CHINA-HONGKONG: PARTY SHAKE-UP
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China's State Council on July 22, 2015, suddenly announced that it had accepted Hongkong Chief Executive CY Leung's recommendation to fire two high rank officials. One of them is Tsang Tak-Sing, brother of Jasper Tsang Yuk-Sing also a very senior and long time veteran in the local CCP organization. CY Leung just went to Beijing and met with Zhang Dejiang last week. (Comment: CY Leung is reputed to actually represent the interests of central-level SOEs in Hong Kong, different from local CCP organizations that had long united front relations with local businessmen/tycoons.
Tsang Tak-Sing and his brother Jasper Tsang Yuk-Sing are very senior "old patriots" that joined Hong Kong's CCP underground circle during the 1967 anti-British insurgency. Tsang Tak-shing spent time in jail for that. He had impeccable 'Red' credentials and had been very hardline in office. Jasper Tsang had been speculated at times as a possible replacement of CY Leung (or king maker) if Beijing decided to fire him. He had a lot of friends among tycoons and even the democrats. Indications that somebody, or people, see Jasper Tsang Yuk-Sing as a threat and want to undermine him have been the recent circulation of some old "scandalous materials" involving Jasper Tsang pertaining to 2012.
The announcement has led to speculation that a power struggle is underway among different factions in Beijing and between the center and local CCP organization in Hong Kong and that it might be intensifying.)
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