On 10 March, 2005, the Central People's Government (CPG) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) accepted the resignation of Mr Tung Chee-hwa, the chief executive (CE) of Hong Kong.

Under the constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), a new CE has to be elected within six months or it will face a constitutional crisis. Conducted by a committee of 800 members, the election will take place on 10 July, 2005. But one issue remains unresolved and highly controversial – whether the new CE should serve a full term of five years or just the remaining two years of Mr Tung's term.

Common law-trained Hong Kong lawyers answer this question diametrically differently to mainland China legal academics rooted in the socialist legal system, hence the controversy. The HKSAR Government prefers the views of the mainland scholars.