‘Zero room, zero tolerance’ to ‘HK independence’: Top liaison official
“Hong Kong independence” has “zero room” in China and even elsewhere in the world, the central government’s new liaison chief in Hong Kong said on Friday.
Wang Zhimin, newly appointed director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was speaking at a National Day celebration reception held by the city’s media.
He said all Chinese people including Hong Kong residents had “zero tolerance” to advocacy of such ideas.
This is the first time that Wang has spoken to a social event in Hong Kong after assuming office.
Wang said separatism seriously violates the laws, since the very first article of the Basic Law stipulates that the Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China. Violating the first article means violating all 160 articles, he said.
He also said independence is “impossible” as there is “zero room” for Hong Kong independence seekers on the country’s 9.6-million squarekilometers land and other places in the world.
“All Chinese people including over 7 million Hong Kong people have ‘zero tolerance’ to the ‘Hong Kong independence’ notion,” he said.
He vowed to fully implement the “one country, two systems” principles in Hong Kong, as President Xi Jinping stressed, “without them being twisted or distorted”.
Wang expressed his faith in the people of Hong Kong and confidence in the city’s bright future.
After some political turbulence over the past years, people today have a deeper and fuller understanding of “one country, two systems”, Wang noted. Hong Kong is embracing promising new changes under Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
“Loving the country as well as the Hong Kong SAR, pursuing harmony in democratic ways, caring for stability and for progress, will become the prime theme of the symphony titled ‘Hong Kong Development’,” Wang said.
He stressed that in future he would continue to communicate with people from all walks of life, which is one of the Liaison Office’s job in Hong Kong.
Wang, occasionally sprinkling his speech with Cantonese, said Hong Kong is his second home. He recalled his coming to work here in 1992 and 2006 which enriched his personal affection for the SAR.