Why Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong needs to be more transparent
Official's radio appearance shows how it could open up, helping both Beijing and Hong Kong
The central government's liaison office is very familiar to Hongkongers. So guess how an ordinary citizen with no political affiliation or public duties reacts when receiving a call from someone purporting to be an official from that office? No doubt they would be surprised.
Then there is the question of whether the recipient of the call takes it seriously and follows the caller's instructions - as happened in some of the spate of phone scam cases in recent weeks.
As Beijing's top representative body in the city, it is little wonder people take its words seriously as its views are usually interpreted as being Beijing's views.
Over the past 18 years, it has not been unusual to hear comments from its senior officials - mostly comments on political issues given after being ambushed or chased down by reporters. Rarely has a liaison official given a formal interview to local media.
It was thus something of a surprise last week when one senior official showed up on a radio programme to talk about the hot topic of the phone scams that have cost Hongkongers millions.
Wu promised that his office would provide whatever assistance Hong Kong police needed, especially in the form of intelligence, to protect the interests of Hong Kong people.
After the radio show, Wu did what most guests on such shows do - faced reporters for a question-and-answer session that continued until they had enough quotes.
Wu's rare move was obviously motivated by the recent growth in cross-border phone scams, which Hong Kong police will only be able to stop with assistance from mainland authorities.
Who can play the role of connecting authorities and law enforcement agencies on both sides to help the victims and educate the public to avoid being cheated? That work apparently falls to the liaison office. The detailed explanation and advice provided by Wu on behalf of the office therefore helped a lot.
But if this is such a natural and necessary role for the office to perform, what was so special about Wu's appearance on the radio?
This question touches on a more sensitive issue: the role of the liaison office.
While the office clearly represents Beijing, how it functions under the "one country, two systems" principle has long been debated - even more so in recent years, as the city has become more polarised and politicised.
Concerns and criticisms have been aired, especially by pan-democrats, who question whether the liaison office is turning into a "second government" in the city. The liaison office argues that one of its jobs is to enhance exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland. It therefore has full authorisation from Beijing to contact people from all walks of life, as well as the local government.
Still, perhaps with the avoidance of political rows in mind, its senior officials have taken a passive approach towards the media, though they will, from time to time, deliver important speeches and briefly take questions on certain official occasions.
One high-profile example came last year when its director, Zhang Xiaoming , attended a lunch gathering with all lawmakers at the Legislative Council building to mark his appointment, an event that was open to the press.
How the liaison office can play its role more effectively without undermining the city's high degree of autonomy is a debate that could go on for a long time. But it would benefit both Beijing and Hong Kong if the office could enhance its transparency and interact better with the public, rather than being seen as a mysterious organisation.
Hopefully, Wu's unprecedented radio appearance will become the "new normal". That way, the office can help clarify and explain cross-border matters, while sharing Beijing's thoughts on important Hong Kong policies in an open way.
