Opinion | Why Beijing’s grass-roots outreach is a wake-up call for Hong Kong’s patriots
- The liaison office’s intentional overreach sends a powerful message to pro-establishment bodies
- The central government no longer trusts the middlemen who were once its eyes and ears in Hong Kong – now it is gauging public sentiment directly
In the past, a lot of effort went into ensuring that the central government’s liaison office adopted – or at least seemed to be adopting – a very hands-off approach to Hong Kong, lest it be accused of interfering in the special administrative region’s affairs.
It kept a low profile and focused on its role of liaising, of assisting when called on, and of showing the central government’s staunch support for the Hong Kong government. It took the hands-off approach precisely because it was mindful that it had to protect Hong Kong’s international image, as well as Beijing’s.
Instead, it was understood that it worked the hidden corridors of power, brokering deals and coordinating the participation of pro-establishment candidates in elections.
And yet, the new political normal in Hong Kong has even caught Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor by surprise.
Earlier this month, the liaison office held a press conference and released information about its latest outreach drive: more than 80 per cent of its staff took part in the consultation, talking to 3,985 residents, visiting 979 subdivided flats, public housing units and small and medium-sized enterprises in total, and collecting 3,476 opinions.
