China’s hold on Hong Kong: who makes the policy decisions for the city?

Ahead of state leader Zhang Dejiang’s three-day visit to Hong Kong on Tuesday, a question that has popped up in the cocktail circuit: just who exactly in the central leadership decides on how to handle Hong Kong’s affairs? How influential is Zhang, who is the National People’s Congress chairman? While there may be no shortage of important leaders and intellectuals from official think tanks having a say, Hong Kong policy is decided at the apex – by President Xi Jinping himself. Make no mistake about that, say analysts. Even so, there is a formal hierarchy that has existed over time. Here is a look at the hierachy, over the years:

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen was the key mainland official handling the resumption of China’s sovereignty of Hong Kong from the early 1990s. He went on to take charge of the city’s affairs in the first few years after the handover. During that time, Beijing had adopted a “non-interference policy” and allowed the city’s government a free hand in handling its internal affairs. But the July 1 march in 2003, when half a million people protested against the enactment of Article 23 which set out sweeping security laws, changed that.

The leading group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs was established that year in a move to ensure greater attention on Hong Kong affairs and better coordination of efforts by different agencies. Caught off guard by the July 1 march, Beijing decided it had to be more assertive. The group, which has always been led by the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee members, studies the social situation of the two special administrative regions, and co-ordinates the work relating to Hong Kong and Macau among various central government departments, covering political, economic, ideology and national security.

Vice-President Zeng Qinghong became the first leader of the leading group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs. Zeng was then the fifth-highest ranking member in the standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo, the nation’s top decision-making body. Zeng retired in 2007.

Then Vice-President Xi Jinping took over the helm, until he was promoted to the presidency in 2012.

Zhang Dejiang, National People’s Congress chairman succeeded Xi to head the leading group. His current deputies are Vice-President Li Yuanchao and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.