A commentary by a Beijing-appointed Basic Law Committee member on Hong Kong's role in Sino-US rivalry sparked a new war of words among the pro-Beijing camp.
Lau Nai-keung's article, published in the latest issue of semi-official magazine China Review, was criticised as the work of 'the most radical leftist' by another hardcore pro-Beijing figure, Lew Mon-hung.
The two had a shouting match in November over repercussions for Hongkongers of the case of Zhao Lianhai , a milk safety activist who was jailed for 21/2 years for 'provoking quarrels and making trouble'.
Also a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Lau said in the article that Hong Kong has become 'the most anti-communist place in the world', acting as a base and bridgehead for the US to attack China, as the two countries vie for global influence.
He cited the cases of Zhao and jailed Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo to illustrate the 'Western attack'. 'The frenetic reactions on the matters of Zhao and Liu ... aim to prove to citizens the demerits of the Chinese mode [of ruling],' he wrote. 'This issue is pivotal in the coming chief executive election in Hong Kong ... every single voter has become a vulnerable part in the Sino-US conflict.'
In the article, 'The centre of the storm between China and US rivalry', Lau claimed that Washington sees China 'as its No 1 enemy' and is trying to infiltrate Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to contain Beijing's growing influence.
'Hong Kong ... is a part of China, but not ruled by the central government. It is where the core interest of China lies, but totally exposed to the US-led Western influence. It is also the cyclone's eye of the Sino-US conflict,' he wrote.