Top Beijing official's 'sensitive' visit to border town raises eyebrows
The central government's liaison office posted photographs on its website late on Thursday showing its director, Zhang Xiaoming, visiting Sheung Shui and talking to shopkeepers and residents.
A visit by Beijing's top representative in Hong Kong to one of the city's border towns has drawn mixed reactions, with one commentator calling it a PR exercise as part of a popularity contest with the US consul general.
The central government's liaison office posted photographs on its website late on Thursday showing its director, Zhang Xiaoming , visiting Sheung Shui and talking to shopkeepers and residents.
"Director Zhang has paid a visit ... to learn on the ground how the individual visitor scheme and parallel-goods trading have impacted on people's lives," the accompanying article said.
In one picture, Zhang is sitting down in a cha chaan teng, drinking tea with people. He also visited the border checkpoint at Lo Wu and talked to customs officers on the Shenzhen side.
Liaison office chiefs seldom visit local neighbourhoods.
Zhang's trip came while Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was on leave and out of town.