Hong Kong must accept it is part of ‘red China’ and led by Communist Party, liaison office legal head says
Wang Zhenmin says China’s constitution and Hong Kong’s mini-constitution have ‘mother-son relationship’ in law
Hongkongers cannot cherry-pick their national identity and say they accept the city is part of China but reject the Chinese Communist Party leadership as such a stance is against the country’s constitution, the legal head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong argued on Monday.
Wang Zhenmin urged the city to recognise that it is part of “red China” and is invested in the future of the Communist Party, as the leadership of the ruling party is a core part of the constitution.
He was speaking at the launch of a forum to mark National Constitution Day, a commemorative event held for the first time in the city.
Taking an unprecedented move to talk about the Communist Party, a subject Beijing’s officials in the city had rarely touched on previously, Wang sought to explain the link between the city and the party leadership, making comments likely to stir debate among the political elite and attract criticism from the pan-democrats.
He began by first noting that the constitution was the basis of the country’s sovereignty and also the foundation for the “one country, two systems” principle, under which Hong Kong is given a high degree of autonomy.