Opinion | Zhang Dejiang gives political warriors plenty to chew on
Traditional Chinese wisdom holds that, for a battle to be won, "food and fodder should go ahead of troops". But how do we translate this to the political battlefield? State leaders delivered a clear message last week to Hong Kong: if universal suffrage is to be secured, it must be implemented in accordance with the Basic Law. And nurturing public support is vital for Beijing.
Traditional Chinese wisdom holds that, for a battle to be won, "food and fodder should go ahead of troops". But how do we translate this to the political battlefield?
State leaders delivered a clear message last week to Hong Kong: if universal suffrage is to be secured, it must be implemented in accordance with the Basic Law. And nurturing public support is vital for Beijing.
While the omission of references to "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and a "high degree of autonomy" from Premier Li Keqiang's maiden work report was widely noted, Hongkongers must also be alert to his unusual choice of adjectives when he called on the city "to implement the Basic Law in a comprehensive and accurate manner". The use of these seldom-heard words makes clear Beijing's growing concern that some in the city are doing otherwise, and that debate arising from pan-democrats' insistence that the public and political parties get to nominate chief executive hopefuls is getting the consultation on reform nowhere.
Meanwhile, Beijing's man in charge of Hong Kong affairs, Zhang Dejiang , set out reform principles when he met Hong Kong delegates to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The NPC chairman stressed universal suffrage must be adopted in accordance with the Basic Law, and that the chief executive must love the city and country.
In a free society like Hong Kong, what Beijing believes are "basic principles" could cause different interpretations, and trigger seemingly endless debates. Beijing sees those who hold opposite views as giving more weight to the principle of "two systems" than "one country". But to pan-democrats, this is a case of Beijing interfering and "screening" candidates, which it finds unacceptable.
Yet it seems the government of President Xi Jinping is taking a more proactive approach, making its views loud and clear. As such, Zhang urged local NPC and CPPCC members to "dare to actively speak up".