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Hong Kong hands investigation of Leung Chun-ying to prosecution office
Sydney Morning Herald - October 10, 2014
Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog also said it "should not and need not" reveal any details of an investigation into Mr Leung to the chief executive himself, even though it ordinarily reports directly to him.
In delegating authority to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Department of Justice said part of the prosecution's brief would be "considering and deciding whether prosecution action is warranted". It had delegated handling of the case to avoid perceptions of a conflict of interest, with department head Rimsky Yuen a member of Mr Leung's governing executive committee.
Opposition Hong Kong politicians have threatened to impeach Mr Leung, while Greens leader Christine Milne called on Australian Federal Police to investigate potential breaches of foreign bribery laws. Both Mr Leung and UGL have denied any wrongdoing.
Details of the secret $7 million payment agreement, first revealed by Fairfax Media, have heaped further pressure on Mr Leung, whose handling of citywide protests that have crippled Hong Kong for almost a fortnight have come under scrutiny – raising questions as to how much longer he can retain the public backing of the Chinese Communist Party.
The government called off a meeting with student protest leaders late on Thursday, just hours before they were due to meet, arguing it was unacceptable that they were using the occasion to incite more people to join the movement.
Earlier that evening protest leaders and pro-democracy lawmakers presented a united front, vowing to escalate their civil disobedience and non co-operation efforts if the government failed to make "substantial responses" to their demands, which include Mr Leung's resignation and for Beijing to withdraw its plan to vet future chief executive candidates.
"The basis for a constructive dialogue has been seriously undermined," Mr Leung's deputy, Carrie Lam, said.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students responded by calling for demonstrators to join a mass protest rally on Friday night, which will likely see tens of thousands return to the streets, after a lull in recent days as protest leaders and the government thrashed out plans for talks.
UGL and Mr Leung's office have stated that neither party was obliged to disclose the arrangement, connected to the Australian company's acquisition of Mr Leung's DTZ, because he was not an elected official at the time it was signed. Mr Leung's office said the payments related to past, not future, service.
The fee agreement between UGL and Mr Leung was signed months before he was elected to Hong Kong's most senior political office in March 2012, but after he announced his candidacy.
UGL paid Mr Leung in two instalments, in 2012 and 2013, after he assumed the office of Hong Kong Chief Executive, which UGL said was a standard non-compete arrangement.
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