In a stunning turnaround, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced at 2am this morning that the government will defer the second reading of the controversial national security legislation.
The move came after executive councillor James Tien Pei-chun last night resigned from the cabinet after his calls to delay the bill, which was scheduled to be put before the Legislative Council on Wednesday, were earlier rejected.
The surprise decision has thrown the chief executive's plan into chaos and added new uncertainties to the tug of war over whether the bill could be put to a vote as scheduled this week. Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen paid a late-night visit to Mr Tien's Mid-Levels home after learning of his resignation and Mr Tung called an emergency meeting of his cabinet which culminated in the surprise decision to defer the vote.
In a brief statement earlier in the evening, the Liberal Party said its chairman had tendered his resignation to Mr Tung from the Executive Council with immediate effect.
The statement stopped short of giving a reason but Mr Tien is expected to make an announcement explaining his decision this afternoon.
The party had reiterated its request to defer the second reading of the anti-subversion bill, saying it had consulted widely and listened to public comments and opinions after Mr Tung announced his last-minute concessions on Saturday to ease public worries.
Allen Lee Peng-fei, the former Liberal Party chairman and a National People's Congress deputy, said: 'The Liberal Party has cast a vote of no confidence on Mr Tung's administration. I do not think he can continue to rule this city anymore. This is now a problem for Beijing ..... anyone in Mr Tung's position should resign.'
