Hong Kong independence would bring ‘calamity’, warns mainland China’s NPC chief Zhang Dejiang
State leader says Basic Law interpretation ‘shows central government’s determination in safeguarding ‘one country, two systems’’
Advocating Hong Kong’s independence from mainland China would “bring calamity to the country and the people”, and Hongkongers must “struggle” against it, China’s top man overseeing Hong Kong affairs said on Tuesday.
National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang also said Beijing would like to communicate with any person or organisation in Hong Kong, as long as they support the “one country, two systems” principle, uphold the Basic Law, and “love the country”.
Zhang was speaking as he met a delegation from the Silent Majority for Hong Kong, a pro-Beijing group led by former radio host Robert Chow Yung, an outspoken critic of the Occupy protests in 2014.
Last month pro-independence legislators Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching triggered a political storm by pledging allegiance to a “Hong Kong nation” and insulting China during their swearings-in at the Legislative Council. Their oaths were rejected during the ceremony.