BEIJING EXPERTS DRIVE HOME XI’S MESSAGE TO HK
NPC Standing Committee heavyweight affirms president’s faith in ‘one country, two systems’ as best way to safeguard stability and prosperity
Beijing has sent a top legal expert and an economist to Hong Kong in a widely televised visit to brief local officials, politicians and various industry professionals on President Xi Jinping’s twice-in-adecade work report released two months ago.
Shen Chunyao, chairman of the legislative affairs commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, yesterday said the report from the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th congress affirmed Xi’s message during a visit to Hong Kong in July that the “one country, two systems” governing principle was here to stay.
“This is the best system safeguarding the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and Macau,” he said, adding that the governing principle should remain an “executive-led” process instead of adopting the separation-ofpowers model commonly used in Western democracies.
But the chairman also stressed the importance of making occasional “improvements” to the governance model.
“You cannot expect that all the questions we face now have been set in stone in the law by our predecessors 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. “Without improvements, the system can lose its energy and vibrancy.”
While Shen did not mention any specific changes, his remarks came on the back of an invitation for the committee’s legal affairs commission to help provide an interpretation of whether foreign-registered lawyers could take up cases involving national security concerns.
The legal expert was joined by Xie Fuzhan, vice-chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs, which is part of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top advisory body.
The pair met Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, before speaking at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai yesterday.
Yang Wanming, deputy to Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong, said the visiting experts had spoken to Xia before hosting the highest-level seminar on the subject of the October work report.
While local authorities and several industry organisations have held similar events on the subject since the 20th congress, the seminar marked the first time mainland officials had flown into Hong Kong to deliver Xi’s message in person.
While Xie spoke on Beijing’s plan to develop the country’s technology sector, Shen said that China had contended with four challenges over the past five years: the social unrest in 2019, Taiwan, the coronavirus pandemic and smearing from the West.
Ahead of Constitution Day today, Shen also stressed the importance of understanding Hong Kong’s legal foundations, which he noted included the nation’s own constitution, as well as the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.
The legal expert urged the city
You cannot expect that all the questions we face now have been set in stone in the law
SHEN CHUNYAO