Hong Kong ‘transformed from chaos to governance’ in the last year, Xi Jinping says
- Gains made in struggle against independence and promotion of reunification, Chinese president says
- Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying also makes appearance at annual gathering in Beijing
Xi said Hong Kong had been “transformed from chaos to governance”, and the struggle against “independence” and the promotion of reunification had been intensified.
Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics continued to advance, Xi said, adding that the overall social situation remained stable in the past year.
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Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying also attended the Saturday gathering, amid speculation that he could vie for the city’s top job.
China has pursued strict epidemic controls, locking down cities and restricting travel, particularly in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday season.
Xi said the country had overcome a series of risks and challenges in the past year and had responded with calm to a pandemic and other changes not seen in a century.
The country has adhered to the “dynamic zero-Covid” policy, consistently and prudently implemented Covid-19 prevention and control measures, “and maintained a global leading position in economic development and epidemic prevention and control”, he said.
China’s economy grew 8.1 per cent last year, above market expectations despite losing steam in the second quarter and slowing further in the fourth quarter. Authorities also cracked down on several industries including private education and tech last year.
Xi also said gains had been made in encouraging private enterprises to promote his “common prosperity” drive.
He said “all fields of work should be planned and conducted” with this year’s Communist Party national congress in mind.
He also called for all non-party members to adhere to the “correct political direction, and consciously maintain a high degree of consistency” with the party’s ideology, politics, and actions.
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Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official think tank, the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said Leung’s presence at the meeting on Saturday was not related to the city’s leadership race.
“Leung has been travelling to Beijing and other mainland cities frequently as a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and this is just another occasion that he attended in this capacity,” Lau said.
“I wouldn’t interpret it as Leung having a chance in the chief executive election. This is quite a meaningless speculation.”
In an interview with the Post earlier this week, Leung called for a visionary Hong Kong leader to grasp “the last window of opportunity” offered by Beijing’s national development plans, but stopped short of confirming whether he wanted the city’s top job for himself.
With less than two months to go before a new leader is decided by the 1,463-member Election Committee, Leung has repeatedly dodged questions as to whether he will join the race.
Incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has yet to state whether she will run for a second term.
