China appoints hard-line HK security chief
China has appointed an official who became prominent during a 2011 clampdown on protesters in
China as director of its new national security office in
Hong Kong, the official
Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Zheng
Yanxiong, 56, most recently served as the secretary general of the Communist
Party committee of
Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse bordering Hong Kong.
The new security agency was established under national security legislation that China imposed this week on Hong Kong that will punish crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, heralding a more authoritarian era for China's freest city. Zheng sparked controversy during an earlier posting as the party chief of the Guangdong city of Shanwei over his stance towards protesters in the village of Wukan.