HONG KONG, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Incumbent Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Donald Tsang on Monday thanked the Central People's Government of China for appointing him the third term HKSAR Chief Executive, saying such an appointment is "a great honor" for him.

    "I have a huge mission," Tsang said in a statement issued here Monday, shortly after the State Council, or China's cabinet, endorsed his appointment as the third term Chief Executive of HKSAR.

    In the statement, Tsang promised to strive to lead the HKSAR government in a pragmatic manner and to bring Hong Kong's development to a new height.

    "I shall not fail the trust the central government and the people of Hong Kong have placed in me," Tsang said in the statement.

    According to the appointment, Tsang's next five-year term will start on July 1, 2007.

    Tsang won more than 80 percent of the ballots and beat his only contender Alan Leong in the election of the third-term Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held on March 25.

    Tsang said he solicited views from members of the Election Committee and reached out to people from all walks of life, understanding their needs and expectations during the election campaign in the past two months.

    According to the Basic Law of the HKSAR, the chief executive is elected by the broadly representative Election Committee and then appointed by the Central People's Government of China.