Beijing’s new envoy wants more direct contact with Hongkongers, but that poses some challenges

Luo Huining sent out a letter online to members of pro-establishment camp but in an unusual move, he made it available to a wider audience
Test for liaison office director is to strike a balance between communicating better with the public and not being seen as meddling in city’s affairs

Tammy Tam

Published: 6:28pm, 23 Feb 2020

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Can a beautifully written open letter really signal a softening of Beijing’s approach towards Hong Kong?

Those who think so in the case of Beijing’s new envoy to the city may be jumping too easily to such a hasty conclusion – a different style does not necessarily mean a different policy.

Last week, Luo Huining, the new director of Beijing’s liaison office, sent out a letter online to members of the city’s pro-establishment camp. What made it special was that instead of keeping it confidential among this small pro-Beijing group as usual, Luo made it an open letter for a wider audience.

The full version was uploaded to his office’s website, and his staff reminded local reporters to look at it.

Luo Huining called on all sectors to promote more ‘positive energy’. Photo: Bloomberg

The letter made headlines, with political pundits and critics alike noting how it was eloquently crafted, quoting classic Chinese poems and striking a warm and heartening tone in reflecting the nation’s full support for the city amid the coronavirus crisis.

“No one is an isolated island; Hong Kong definitely is not an isolated city,” Luo wrote.

But what prompted some to interpret it as a clear departure from the office’s previous hardline statements was the absence of the usual warning to “stop violence and to quell the unrest”. That has been a regular demand from Beijing throughout the past months of anti-government protests first triggered by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s now-shelved extradition bill.

The eloquently crafted letter made headlines. Photo: Handout

Is the missing warning really so significant? When the whole world, not just the city and the country, is caught up in such a widespread health emergency, the focus has understandably shifted away from the protests, which have not ended but are now much smaller and less frequent. The Lam administration has also paused its campaign against the social unrest to concentrate on public health education.

Two more Hongkongers test positive for coronavirus, taking total in city to 72

Beijing’s core message remained unchanged in Luo’s letter as he blasted the spread of a “political coronavirus”, referring to those who were manipulating the health crisis to provoke cross-border hatred – a case in point being the activist elements in the recent strike by public hospital workers.

His key point: Hong Kong and mainland China cannot be divided.

There was one clear departure in Luo’s message from that of his predecessors’ – he called for more direct contact between his office and Hongkongers, using terms such as “face-to-face” and “link-to-link”.

The recent strike by medical workers included activist elements. Photo: EPA

Political opaqueness has been part of Beijing’s problem all these years in communicating with Hongkongers.

The pro-establishment camp has always been the first to be invited for meetings at the liaison office, or to be summoned to neighbouring Shenzhen for closed-door briefings on important decisions. And the task of keeping the public informed about Beijing’s messages has been left to reporters chasing after and doorstepping delegates to such meetings.

It is bad enough that the messages are lost in translation, but even worse when distorted through second-hand quotes.

Now that Luo has promised more direct contact with the public, it should help enhance transparency, but the test for him is to strike a balance between communicating better with Hongkongers and not being seen as meddling in the city’s affairs.

Chemistry between Carrie Lam and Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong will be a new test for one country, two systems

Luo ended his letter by calling on all sectors, including the media, to promote more “positive energy” for the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.

Was he making a heartfelt appeal for greater cooperation or dishing out more instructions? That kind of perception will factor in the challenges that lie ahead for him.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing’s new envoy reaches out to city, but must walk a fine line

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