To distance himself from the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying who took the hardline stance against localism in Hong Kong, Tsang expressed his affection for local culture, especially showing his support to the Hong Kong national football team against China during the World Cup football qualifiers.
Tsang resigned as Financial Secretary on 12 December after months long speculation of him running in the 2017 Chief Executive election in which he had topped the opinion polls against incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying [REF].