OpinionWhy Beijing had surprisingly little to do with Hong Kong’s latest government reshuffle

The reassignment of the constitutional affairs secretary and the appointment of a DAB member have prompted talk that Beijing is involved. But the fact that Patrick Nip has been reassigned, not pushed out, should put to rest such rumours

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From the left, Secretary for Financial Services Christopher Hui, Secretary for Innovation Alfred Sit, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Eric Tsang, and Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui meet the press at Tamar on April 22. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 6:30am, 27 Apr 2020Updated: 7:19am, 27 Apr 2020

It looks like Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has done a bit of spring cleaning this year. The major government reshuffle last week, which saw new ministerial roles for five principal officials, caught many by surprise. The reshuffle introduced three new faces into the administration, and included a ministerial reassignment.

Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who had been secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, changed portfolios to head the civil service, in a reassignment that attracted most of the media’s attention and prompted much speculation.

This is because his reassignment came mere days after he apologised for a series of contradictory government press releases in a constitutional row over whether the two state bodies overseeing Hong Kong are subject to Article 22 of the Basic Law.

In just a matter of hours, the government went from saying Beijing’s liaison office should not interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs to stating the opposite. It was a political error that certainly warranted the rolling of heads, and when news of an impending reshuffle broke, people thought Nip would surely pay the price for the mistake.

Many speculated that Beijing was the invisible hand behind the latest reshuffle. But the fact that Nip has been reassigned, and not pushed out of the cabinet, should put to rest those rumours.

And his reassignment can have nothing to do with the constitutional row: these reshuffles require weeks, at the very least, to carry out, from recruitment to background checks, from submission for approval to the State Council giving official approval.