Liaison office chief praises Hong Kong and promises to be more transparent and welcoming

Wang Zhimin says the office ‘will serve Hong Kong people with doors wide open just like your old friends’, but opposition party members remain sceptical

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From left: Tan Benhong, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Wang Zhimin, and Xie feng attend the Liaison Office spring reception at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 7:18am, 7 Feb 2018Updated: 7:18am, 7 Feb 2018

Beijing’s top official in the city on Tuesday praised Hongkongers for becoming “more reasonable and mature” and promised that his office would be more transparent and welcoming in serving them.

Wang Zhimin, director of the central government’s representative office located in Hong Kong’s Western district, said it would soon be open to visits from the public.

With Wang Zhimin, what will Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong be about?

This year, staff had started a blog to share their thoughts on living and working in the city, although a post from the office’s deputy director appeared to soft sell Beijing’s policies as he extolled the virtues of travelling by high-speed train.

“The liaison office will serve Hong Kong people with doors wide open just like your old friends, and there is nothing mysterious,” Wang, who hosted the liaison office’s annual spring reception in Wan Chai, said.

Wang Zhimin promised to make the liaison office more welcoming. Photo: Winson Wong

“We will walk together with you, the [city] government as well as the 7.3 million Hong Kong compatriots,” he told the hundreds of guests, who included business elite and top government officials and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.