Beijing pledges full support for Hong Kong to fight independence advocacy and foreign interference
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Beijing’s two top envoys in Hong Kong pledged on Tuesday to give their full support for the city to fight against independence advocacy and interference by foreign governments or organisations.
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In an article published in the latest issue of the pro-China Bauhinia magazine, Wang said Beijing would support Lam in fulfilling the city’s duty in defending national security, as well as curbing any move to separate Hong Kong from the rest of China.
“[We must] firmly reject the acts of Hong Kong independence to realise Hong Kong’s long-term governance and stability,” Wang wrote.
[We must] firmly reject the acts of Hong Kong independence to realise Hong Kong’s long-term governance and stability
To meet Xi’s requirement on party development, Wang said, the liaison office would need to “be firm enough politically” and in terms of belief, responsibility, capability and style.
“Being firm politically means we must firmly support the party’s central leadership with Xi as its core … and being firm in style means we have to maintain a positive spirit, build a friendly and clean relationship with the political and business sectors, and establish the office cadres’ image as friendly, pragmatic and clean,” he wrote.
Since taking office last year, Wang has inherited his predecessor Zhang Xiaoming’s tough stance on political issues, and repeatedly warned that the idea of independence would not be tolerated.
Wang recently made headlines for declaring that his office would “work more and closer” with the city’s government in the future, which critics saw as interfering with Hong Kong affairs.
In his speech at a reception on Tuesday, Xie also highlighted the role of his office in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Reviewing the work of his office in 2017, Xie said: “We have firmly safeguarded the state sovereignty, security and development interests, supported the [Hong Kong] government in fulfilling its relevant constitutional responsibilities, and worked jointly with the [Hong Kong] government to oppose foreign intervention.”
Xie did not elaborate on or cite examples of interference.
He went on to highlight the role of his office in promoting Hong Kong’s partnership with the mainland and other countries in national development strategies.
“We took an active part in the handling of over 600 consular protection cases involving Hong Kong compatriots, to ensure that the country’s consular service is available wherever our Hong Kong compatriots make footsteps,” he added.
