Xinhua's Hong Kong office will not become an overlord or have a secret agenda after it is renamed today, a mainland official said yesterday.
The official said there was no intention to adopt a higher or lower profile after the agency's title changes to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government. 'We'll find the right balance in accordance with the needs of our work,' said the official, who did not want to be named.
In a despatch last night, Xinhua said the State Council had decided at an executive committee meeting on December 28 to rename the local branch of Xinhua, formed in May 1947 as Beijing's de facto embassy, and its Macau branch. The SAR Government had been notified.
Xinhua director Jiang Enzhu said the change was natural. Its basic functions and responsibilities would remain unchanged.
Mr Jiang, whose official title becomes Director of the Liaison Office, said there would be no intervention in SAR affairs. Claims that Xinhua had manipulated elections or Legco votes were groundless, he said.
Tung Chee-hwa said the Government welcomed the change. Xinhua's responsibilities did 'not impinge on areas within the autonomies of the SAR'.
