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Don’t worry about anthem, checkpoint sagas - Hong Kong is still autonomous, Beijing insists
Key mainland officials urge ‘confidence’ as they seek to ease fears over national anthem law and planned joint checkpoint for high-speed railway
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Two key mainland Chinese officials overseeing Hong Kong affairs have assured the city’s largest group of barristers that Beijing has not tightened the “one country, two systems” policy in light of two highly contentious political issues.
They urged the 30-strong Hong Kong Bar Association delegation visiting Beijing on Tuesday to have “confidence” in the governing policy allowing the city a high degree of autonomy, as they sought to ease fears over impending legislation to curb disrespect for China’s national anthem and a planned joint checkpoint for a high-speed, cross-border railway.
The barristers raised the two contentious issues when they met Zhang Xiaoming, the new director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and Basic Law Committee chairman Li Fei who specialises in the city’s mini-constitution.
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The association’s chairman, Paul Lam Ting-kwok, said he had expressed the group’s concerns about the implementation of one country, two systems in light of the city preparing to adopt a national anthem law recently endorsed by the country’s top legislature, and the so-called co-location arrangement on the Hong Kong side of the express rail link to Guangzhou.
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“Their message is that … they hope Hong Kong people will have confidence in the one country, two systems principle,” Lam said.
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