What Li Keqiang omitting Hong Kong principles from report may mean
NPC leader addsfuel to flames of speculation by telling Hongkongers to cautiously interpret premier's omission of core principles concerning city
Speculation there is a hidden meaning behind Premier Li Keqiang's omission of two of Hong Kong's constitutional principles from his maiden work report deepened yesterday as Beijing's third-in-command cryptically advised Hongkongers to "cautiously interpret" the implications of their absence.
The advice from National People's Congress leader Zhang Dejiang , Beijing's man in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs, was made in a meeting with the city's 36 NPC deputies.
On Wednesday, Li omitted the phrases "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" and "high degree of autonomy" from his work report. His predecessor Wen Jiabao had included the phrases in all his 10 reports.
Beijing's top representative in Hong Kong, liaison office chief Zhang Xiaoming , said the more general "one country, two systems" principle included in the report encompassed the two other principles.
But observers see a deeper significance behind the omissions, particularly in view of Zhang Dejiang's remark and what some see as a tightening of Beijing's hold on Hong Kong's government amid governance problems, heated debates over universal suffrage, anti-mainlander protests and nostalgia for British colonialism.
NPC delegate and local lawmaker Ip Kwok-him quoted the NPC chief as saying: "Hong Kong's media have had sweeping coverage of [the omission]. This should be interpreted cautiously. Very often, to decipher something does not necessarily mean full disclosure."
Dr Li Pang-kwong of the National Association of Study on Hong Kong and Macau, a newly created high-level think tank, said the omission was "by no means coincidental".