Former Hong Kong lawmaker Ronny Tong urges mainland Chinese officials to relaunch political reform
Tong is heading a delegation to Beijing from his think tank, Path of Democracy; a Hong Kong academic pointed to the high-level reception they received
Former pan-democrat lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah, who is leading a delegation to the capital, called for the relaunching of political reform in Hong Kong during high-level talks with senior mainland officials.
Tong held a breakfast meeting on Thursday with Feng Wei, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. He said they touched on the implementation of the “one country, two systems” policy in Hong Kong and the possibility of relaunching political reform.
Breaking the ice: former Hong Kong lawmaker Ronny Tong to lead Path of Democracy delegation in Beijing talks
He also said he had tried to convince Zhang Rongshun, a vice-chairman of the legislative affairs commission under the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, of the need to relaunch political reform during a discussion in the afternoon.
While he declined to disclose what the senior cadres had said, Tong said: “The discussions were useful and the atmosphere was very good.
“In comparison, I would say Feng is more open-minded ...He understands well the Hong Kong situation. I also relayed to him some of the pan-democrats’ views [on various issues].”
He also said he had expressed views on the setting up of a mainland border checkpoint at the high-speed rail link’s West Kowloon terminus.
The meetings were among the highlights of the four-day visit to Beijing by the Path of Democracy think tank, which was the first visit to the capital by democracy campaigners since the failed political reforms last year.
Among the delegates were think tank co-convenors Professor Joseph Chan Cho-wai and Dr Ray Yep Kin-man and chief executive officer Dr Derek Yuen Mi-chang . All are prominent political scientists in Hong Kong.
Lawmaker Ronny Tong launches think tank to improve Hong Kong-mainland China relations
The delegation also had a meeting with the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies – a semi-official think tank chaired by former Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office deputy director Chen Zuoer.
Tong said they exchanged views on political reform, the rise of the Hong Kong independence movement and Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
“We also expressed the view that there is an urgent need to have political reform in Hong Kong. Both sides also discussed the reasons why some Hong Kong young people are interested in Hong Kong independence,” said Tong.
In the afternoon, the delegation paid a visit to the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, where they had a seminar with researchers on the belt and road strategy before attending a dinner hosted by Zhang Rongshun at the Great Hall of the People.
In Hong Kong, political affairs observer Dr James Sung Lap-kung of City University said: “By the high-level reception of Tong’s group, Beijing wants to convey the message that it is willing to establish contacts and to talk with moderate politicians.”
The delegation is scheduled to attend a seminar on Friday with Basic Law experts before visiting Tsinghua University. It will be followed by a seminar on the country’s constitution at Renmin University.
The delegation will return to Hong Kong on Saturday.
