About half of Hong Kong delegates set to miss ‘two sessions’ over Covid-19, chances of virtual presence ‘slim’ due to confidentiality concerns
- Only 17 of 36 local deputies of National People’s Congress and about half of 202 delegates invited to advisory body’s conference flew from Shenzhen to Beijing on Thursday
- Analysts say Beijing cares instead how delegates will use political influence outside meetings to facilitate mainland Chinese efforts to curb city’s infection surge
About half of more than 200 Hong Kong delegates are expected to be absent from China’s two most important annual conferences, which start on Friday, for reasons related to the city’s worsening coronavirus outbreak.
The record absenteeism rate has prompted pro-Beijing representatives, including those stranded in Shenzhen, to explore ways to stay relevant to the discussions, although they said chances of joining the so-called two sessions virtually remained slim due to “confidentiality concerns” from mainland Chinese authorities.
Analysts said what Beijing cared about instead was how the delegates would utilise their political influence outside the meetings to facilitate the mainland’s efforts to curb the city’s infection surge.
Zero-Covid under the microscope at China’s ‘two sessions’
“Being able to control the epidemic situation is seen as of utmost importance to showcase Beijing’s strong leadership, paving the way for the 20th Party Congress which will determine President Xi Jinping’s succession later this year,” said veteran China-watcher Johnny Lau Yui-siu. “Everything local delegates do now should be related to this goal.”
Lau said this was a “prime opportunity” to boost Hongkongers’ perception towards the central government ahead of Xi’s possible visit to Hong Kong in July, adding that it was “naturally a primary task for Hong Kong delegates to contribute their part now”.
The annual session of the country’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), kicks off on Friday, followed by the opening of the country’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), on Saturday.
More than 100 absentees from Hong Kong are expected at this year’s sessions, according to estimates from several veteran members.
Only 17 of the 36 local deputies of the NPC and about half of the 202 delegates invited to the advisory body’s conference flew from Shenzhen to Beijing on Thursday afternoon, according to NPC members Ip Kwok-him and Chan Yung, both from the city’s largest pro-establishment party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
Some headed to the capital from different mainland cities.
The Post understands that NPC deputy Witman Hung Wai-man, whose birthday party caused an uproar in January, was asked by mainland officials to “avoid a public appearance”, while CPPCC member Lam Shuk-yee, former president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, was the latest representative to call off her trip due to potential exposure to a Covid-19 patient.
Hong Kong confirms record 56,827 cases; ‘500 testing centres planned’ for universal screening
On Thursday, Hong Kong confirmed a record 56,827 Covid-19 infections, with its overall tally of 350,557 more than double of the mainland’s caseload.
Stringent Covid-19 measures meant all Hong Kong representatives had to undergo a one-week quarantine in Shenzhen and take nucleic acid tests before flying to Beijing.
The infection of Irons Sze Wing-wai, a CPPCC member, last Friday prompted 11 others who travelled with him to confine themselves in Shenzhen hotels for two more weeks, missing the whole sessions period.
Other absentees included Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole delegate to the NPC Standing Committee, and all three leaders of the NPC delegation, Ma Fung-kwok, Wong Yuk-shan and Lo Sui-on.
At a virtual press conference on Thursday, CPPCC spokesman Guo Weimin relayed Xi’s concern about Hong Kong’s epidemic situation and said those who could not join this year’s plenary sessions could still take part online and submit proposals.
But Nick Chan Hiu-fung, a local deputy to the NPC stranded in Shenzhen, said he believed chances of joining other meetings virtually or via phone remained slim, citing “confidentiality considerations” from mainland authorities.
Chan said he had been striving to stay relevant by submitting proposals through a device with digital certificates and asking those in Beijing to relay messages to officials.
“I built up contacts with mainland officials and delegates. I have been busy talking to them,” he said. “We don’t sit still because of the isolation.”
Observers say China’s economic and unemployment situations will top the agenda of the week-long congress as global investors look for reassurances in the post-pandemic era. The country’s direction of its dynamic zero infections policy is among the closely watched issues.
“Hong Kong issues are not a focus this year considering Beijing’s economic and diplomatic challenges,” said Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies.
“The absence of Hong Kong delegates is not a big deal. It just means a smaller backdrop in key meetings. State leaders can still get their messages across effectively.”
He referred to traditional sessions where senior officials overseeing Hong Kong affairs delivered important messages to the city. Ip, the veteran delegate, said he believed the meetings would go ahead despite the absence of many representatives.
Lau also said very strict epidemic control measures for visiting delegates were necessary to ensure a smooth operation of the two sessions, regarded as an important stage to showcase the strength of the ruling Communist Party.
As China stands firm on zero-Covid, will it work for Hong Kong?
In mid-2020, the annual event proceeded after weeks of delays following the country’s first Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan in Hubei province. This year’s meetings continued to adopt a “closed-loop management”, where all social gatherings outside official meetings are banned.
Hong Kong’s Covid-19 situation has triggered much concern from the central government. In a rare message last month, Xi told the city’s leaders via local pro-Beijing newspapers that their “overriding priority” was to control the outbreak.
Top Beijing-based epidemiologists who helped contain the Wuhan outbreak are in town to offer advice, while work steered by the mainland is under way to build about 70,000 quarantine units in new makeshift Covid-19 hospitals and isolation facilities.
