Hong Kong no. 2 official resigns with eye on becoming next leader

By Venus Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's number two official Carrie Lam, nicknamed "the fighter", resigned on Thursday to contest the March election to become the financial hub's next chief executive and first female leader. "I told the chief executive in my resignation letter that there is only one reason for me to resign at this juncture, and that is if my resignation is approved by the Central People's Government, I intend to prepare to contest in the upcoming chief executive election," Lam told reporters. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and its next leader faces the task of reconciling longstanding tensions between Communist Party leaders in Beijing and pro-democracy advocates agitating for universal suffrage.