Hong Kong 'separation of powers': Why Beijing is laying down the law on who's in charge
Declaring that the chief executive has overriding legal status shows the central government wants to set the record straight on its authority
When Beijing's liaison office director Zhang Xiaoming declared last weekend that Hong Kong's chief executive had a special legal status that transcended the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, he knew well his remarks would spark a fresh row.
"But we should state our positions while promoting the Basic Law. That's why I believe there is no need to avoid controversy," he said at a seminar marking the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the city's constitution.
Emphasising Hong Kong's political system did not exercise the separation of powers, Beijing's top man in Hong Kong described the position of chief executive as being at the core of an "executive-led, judicially independent political system".
Read more: Zhang Xiaoming’s controversial speech on Hong Kong governance: The full text
"The chief executive's power is not limited to leading the Hong Kong administration … What is being implemented is the system led by the chief executive."
As expected, Zhang's comments drew fire from the legal sector and pan-democrats. The Bar Association said it would be regrettable if Zhang's views were taken to mean that the chief executive was superior to the three government branches.
Civic Party leader and former Bar Association chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said Zhang raised the status of chief executive onto a pedestal "like an emperor", while Martin Lee Chu-ming, a drafter of the Basic Law and founding chairman of the Democratic Party, said Zhang was trying to rewrite the Basic Law.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung came to Zhang's defence, saying the chief executive would never be "an emperor" as the Basic Law stipulates legislative and judicial supervision of him.