Iron fist or velvet glove? Zhang Dejiang strides on stage in an increasingly divided Hong Kong
He’s here to endorse a key economic initiative, but everyone will be looking to see if the NPC chief tackles the city’s thorny political issues
China’s third highest-ranking official begins his three-day visit to Hong Kong on Tuesday, ending a four-year vacuum when no state leader set foot in a city mainlanders perceive increasingly as an unfriendly troublemaker.
Zhang Dejiang, the top gun of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, has a chance to spread his message to his intended audience – the people of Hong Kong – in the full glare of publicity.
Hong Kong officials brand it a high-level tour to expound on and endorse the city’s role in China’s “belt and road” strategic initiative. But politicians and China observers are expecting messages from Zhang – however overt or oblique – on the city’s politics, which have recently been infused by a restless desire to debate ideas like independence and self-determination.
Zhang has two official objectives in town. First, he is to attend a summit on the “belt and road” initiative on Wednesday and give a keynote speech. Second, reports by state media Xinhua have it that Zhang, also the leader of Beijing’s central coordination group for Hong Kong and Macau affairs, would “inspect” the city.
The “inspection” – which will feature unprecedented face-to-face encounters with pan-democratic lawmakers at a 40-minute cocktail reception – comes just months after the city experienced arguably its bloodiest social unrest since the 1960s, with hundreds involved in the Mong Kok riot, attacking police and setting streets ablaze.