Party Popper Hits Hong Kong Leader in Face

HONG KONG – It can’t have been an auspicious way to celebrate China’s National Day: Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa was making a toast when a projectile from a party popper hit him in the face, officials and newspapers said Tuesday.

Tung had raised his glass along with other dignitaries at a gala event when party poppers were set off as planned. One of the poppers – capsules of firecrackers and shreds of paper ignited by pulling a cord – shot some debris that struck Tung’s forehead, leaving him with a small red gash.

The chief executive suffered only a minor scratch and did not require medical treatment, Tung spokeswoman Ruby Ng said Tuesday.

“He’s all right,” Ng told The Associted Press by telephone.

The Apple Daily and Ming Pao newspapers ran photos of an unsmiling Tung with the tiny wound at the top of his forehead and holding a tissue he used to wipe it. The Oriental Daily News showed Tung shrugging off the incident with a grin.

Another picture in Apple Daily showed Tung ducking behind someone’s shoulder, apparently in a belated attempt to get cover after he had already been struck.

The direct hit was a bad omen for Tung, fortune teller Kwong Wai-hung was quoted as telling the Oriental Daily News, because the forehead is important for the fate of officials.

The People’s Republic of China marks its 55th anniversary on Friday and there are a number of events marking the occasion here and in the mainland over the next few days. Former British colony Hong Kong was returned to China in July 1997.