The remarks of President Hu Jintao to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa have been interpreted as a rebuke. Mr Hu's directive to Mr Tung to identify the weaknesses in governance and his administration, unify the government, serve the national interests, maintain social stability and listen to the people was seen as instructions on how he should govern Hong Kong. Few of the comments addressed the constitutional implications, however.
It is possible to interpret Mr Hu's remarks as implying that Beijing can dictate to the government of Hong Kong how it should conduct its affairs. The tone of his remarks and the range of issues dealt with suggest that Mr Hu considers Hong Kong, despite all the talk of 'a high degree of autonomy' and 'Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong', to be subordinate to the central government.
It has been suggested that Mr Hu was dissatisfied with the way the government has handled the Hunghom Peninsula case, the West Kowloon cultural centre and the Link listing - all matters within the special administrative region's authority. His remarks may be read to mean that in Beijing's eyes, Hong Kong is no different from mainland municipalities and provinces, subject to the ultimate authority of the Communist Party.
Mr Tung does not seem to dispute that Mr Hu is justified in directing him in this way. But is this interpretation sustained by the Basic Law? Article 43 says that the chief executive shall be 'accountable to the central people's government and the SAR in accordance with the provisions of this law'.
If Mr Tung were to be equally accountable to Beijing and Hong Kong, his job would be impossible. Beijing does not always sympathise with Hong Kong people. This places the chief executive in an impossible position, as he has repeatedly found himself. Unfortunately, in these instances he has chosen to side with Beijing, against the wishes of the majority. In a sense, Mr Tung's difficulties are self-inflicted. If he had taken the Basic Law seriously and upheld Hong Kong's autonomy, he might not have been so vulnerable - and so humiliated in public. Mr Tung's difficult relations with the people are, in large part, due to his unfailing obedience to Beijing's instructions. Fortunately, Mr Tung is not in a hopeless position.
The chief executive's accountability to Beijing is not unlimited or absolute, as Article 43 makes clear. Beijing's responsibility extends to two principal areas: foreign affairs and defence, and on a secondary basis to aspects of the relationship between Hong Kong and the central government (primarily the appointment of the chief executive).