Hong Kong can’t go it alone, says Li Ka-shing
City’s richest man believes most people do not support the idea of independence
Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, said the idea of independence from the mainland was far-fetched and the conditions do not exist for the city to go it alone.
Speaking to media after his two flagship companies, CK Hutchison and Cheung Kong Property, announced earnings, Li said he did not think most Hong Kong people would support the idea of independence.
“I personally, like most Hong Kong people, do not like the idea of independence from the mainland.The idea of independence appears quite far-fetched from reality.”
Li had faced the wrath of state media late last year after he sold assets on the mainland, with published commentaries accusing him of abandoning the country, while many unfavourable comments also appeared on social media.
His latest remarks came a day after a senior legal official from Beijing had dismissed calls from some in Hong Kong to turn the city into an independent sovereign state in 2047, when the Sino-British Joint Declaration expires.
Qiao Xiaoyang, head of the National People’s Congress Law Committee and a former Basic Law Committee chairman, said on Wednesday Hong Kong did not have the conditions to become independent.