Chemistry between Carrie Lam and higher-ranking Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong will be a new test for one country, two systems
- Xia Baolong was made head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office last week
- Reshuffle comes amid national crisis in combating the coronavirus outbreak
A clear chain of command and good personal rapport among the team are key to any efficient management and governance – it is that simple.
The latest earthquake in Beijing’s supervisory mechanism for Hong Kong affairs is shocking, yet telling enough – the reshuffle comes amid a national crisis in combating the coronavirus outbreak, a public health emergency that President Xi Jinping now wants addressed as part of national security interests.
Xia’s predecessor Zhang Xiaoming, who has spent his whole career handling Hong Kong and Macau, became the number two.
This was unavoidably seen as a demotion for Zhang, but his two counterparts with the same ministerial rank, Luo Huining and Fu Ziying – Beijing’s top envoys to Hong Kong and Macau, respectively – were also made Xia’s deputies under the new line up. It means the Beijing-based HKMAO is now empowered to lead the two frontline liaison offices, clearing long-time confusion as to who is in charge.