BEIJING will this week open a communications office in the territory, headed by a senior mainland official.
Xinhua (the New China News Agency) Deputy Director Qin Wenjun is expected to take charge of the Hong Kong office of the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC), according to PWC member Xu Ximin.
''Mr Qin is the deputy secretary of the PWC and he is the most senior member in Hong Kong. It is only natural for him to head the office,'' Mr Xu said.
But a pro-Beijing source said Mr Qin would not be director of the new office, and declined to say whether the Xinhua official would occupy a more senior position.
The luxurious office in China Building in Central, to be officially opened on Friday, will be staffed entirely by mainland officials.
The office will be open to the public, with a telephone hotline and meet-the-public sessions, to collect views on transitional matters.
Mr Xu said Beijing had decided to call it a communications office - rather than liaison office - to avoid creating fears of a second power centre.