Japan's chief apologises for travel incidents

Hong Kong's Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang formally apologised on Thursday to the public over travel and other incidents related to him, which were believed to have created worries and shaken public confidence in the city's institutional system. Attention has been drawn to Tsang recently after local media disclosed his holiday trips on private jets and yachts owned by his tycoon friends, and the renting of a Shenzhen flat where Tsang intended to live after his tenure ended. A full account of the incidents have been demanded by the city's lawmakers, who also called for a full disclosure of payments Tsang made. Tsang, while attending a question and answer session at the city's Legislative Council in the day, said that after consulting with his wife, he has decided to give up the Shenzhen flat and will arrange meetings to terminate the contract as soon as possible. Wide media coverage has already generated public suspicion on my honesty and integrity as the city's CE, Tsang said, who admitted his ways of dealing with the incidents did not meet the public expectations. "Today, I came to the Legislative Council by myself to provide an explanation, not with an intention to save my own reputation, but to restore the public's confidence in a clean and devoted government," Tsang said.