John Tsang
Tsang officially declared his candidacy on 19 January with a slogan of "Trust, Unity, Hope", after more than a month-long pending of his resignation by the central government which put his campaign in limbo. There were reports that central government officials had given "red light" to John Tsang running in the election and had allegedly asked John Tsang not to run for more than ten times, including rumours of him being offered the deputy governor post at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in return for not joining the race. Tsang refuted such claims, only saying that there were "friends" who supported him and some who did not. To contrast his archrival former Chief Secretary Carrie Lam who was perceived to follow Leung Chun-ying's hardline and divisive policies, Tsang described himself as a good listener who accepted different views, appealing to "all 7.35 million Hongkongers so that together we can make Hong Kong a better place." Tsang also launched his election Facebook page, which drew more than 100,000 likes in a day.