Beijing official tells Hong Kong delegation to ‘contemplate’ relationship with mainland
Wang Guangya urges city to consider its relationship with the mainland - but critics blast him for pitting democracy against order
A senior mainland official has asked Hongkongers to contemplate the relationship between democracy and the rule of law after the recent Occupy protests.
The official, Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also asked residents to think about why a campaign that involved illegally occupying roads could last for almost 80 days in a place known for its rule of law.
Wang raised the issue during a meeting in Beijing yesterday with a visiting Hong Kong delegation led by Connie Wong Wai-ching, the president of the Kowloon Federation of Associations.
Wang "wants us to contemplate the relationships between 'one country' and 'two systems', between democracy and the rule of law, and between Hong Kong and the mainland," Wong said, after meeting Wang.
Some observers dismissed Wang's remarks as misleading.
"Democracy and the rule of law are not mutually exclusive," said Dr Chung Kim-wah, a political scientist at Polytechnic University. "Rather, the two are complementary.
"It seems the mainland tries to lead people to think that democracy is illegally occupying the roads as in the pro-democracy Occupy Central campaign."