Economic focus puts Hong Kong pan-democrats on right track in visit
Nearly four years on from a divisive trip to Shanghai, lawmakers put the stress on innovations and advantages enjoyed by the city, not a political agenda
The visit to the mainland by 32 lawmakers, including nine pan-democrats, was the largest delegation from the Legislative Council since almost four years ago.
The three-day, five-city tour of Guangdong was to study Beijing’s “Greater Bay Area” project to forge an integrated business powerhouse across Hong Kong, Macau and nine provincial cities.
A highlight, less than six months ahead of the planned opening of the cross-border high-speed rail link, was a 40-minute ride on the line’s mainland section from Guangzhou to Shenzhen.
It was always going to take more than that to sway pan-democrat opposition on legal and constitutional grounds to the controversial plan for a joint Hong Kong-mainland immigration checkpoint at the West Kowloon terminus, still being debated.
What really set this visit apart was an economic rather than political agenda, and the absence of political division among pan-democrats that marred the 2014 visit to Shanghai to discuss electoral reform with state officials. As a result, both sides were able to come away with positives.
For example, in order to help ensure the success of the bay area concept, pan-democrats and other lawmakers emphasised the importance of Hong Kong’s advantages under “one country, two systems”, such as the rule of law, free flow of information and internationalisation.