Rita Fans rejects talk of campaign against 'one country, two systems'

Veteran Beijing loyalist Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai has dismissed a suggestion that remarks by ex-justice minister Elsie Leung Oi-sie and former mainland official Chen Zuoer were an attempt to undermine the "one country, two systems" formula.

Fan, a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said the two had the right to air their personal opinions.

Chen, former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said on Wednesday "the rise of a pro-independence force is spreading like a virus".

Fan said: "As a former mainland official, he must be saddened by Hongkongers waving the Union Jack in protests. I would like to ask [those youngsters] if they know what messages will be sent to others when they take out the flag?"

She also addressed Leung's claim the legal profession in the city, including judges, lacked an understanding of the relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing. Leung said this had given rise to mistakes in top court rulings and, in her view, superseded the central government's power.

"I think people have overreacted to her words and given them too much weight," Fan said. "[The remarks], in fact, can't affect judicial independence."

Fan, a former president of the Legislative Council who will seek re-election to the NPC Standing Committee next year, called the "one country, two systems" formula deep-rooted. "There is absolutely no one who means to destroy it."