Top mainland Chinese social scientist ‘tapped to become deputy chief’ of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
- An analyst says the expected appointment of Wang Linggui, an expert in national security and international relations, hints at Beijing’s priorities for the city
- Wang is a vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences whose areas of study have focused on Islam and the Middle East
A top mainland Chinese social scientist will be appointed as a deputy chief of the Beijing agency overseeing Hong Kong affairs, the Post has learned.
An analyst said the expected appointment of Wang Linggui, an expert in national security and international relations, indicated the central government’s priorities for the city, which has found itself entangled in recent years in the geopolitical tensions between China and the West.
The Post understands that Wang, a vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, seen as one of Beijing’s top think tanks, has been tapped to become a deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO).
According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ website, Wang joined the think tank in 2010, and took up senior leadership roles in its institutes of Asia-Pacific and global strategies, information studies and contemporary China studies. He was promoted to vice-president of the academy last year.
Led by director Xia Baolong, the HKMAO currently has six deputy directors, but one of them, Song Zhe, is turning 62 in April and is due to retire soon.
Song, a seasoned diplomat, was head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union from 2007 to 2011, and was the Chinese foreign ministry’s commissioner in Hong Kong from 2011 to 2016.