Coronavirus: Beijing assessing options for July 1 visit to Hong Kong after 2 top local officials infected

Infection of mainland affairs minister Erick Tsang and incoming chief secretary Eric Chan sparks speculation on whether state leader such as Xi Jinping will attend celebrations

Source familiar with preparations for next week’s celebrations says cases will not have ‘significant impact’ on any visit

Reading Time:4 minutes

Hong Kong marks the 25th anniversary of the handover on July 1. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Published: 1:36pm, 24 Jun 2022Updated: 11:41pm, 24 Jun 2022

Beijing is still assessing the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong before deciding on precautionary steps over who will attend the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty given the rising number of cases and the infection of two key officials, politicians said on Friday.

A source familiar with preparations for next week’s celebrations said the two officials’ cases would not have a “significant impact” on a visit by a yet-to-be-named state leader.

The initial expectation had been that Chinese President Xi Jinping would be visiting Hong Kong and overseeing the swearing in of new leader John Lee Ka-chiu on July 1, with sources telling the Post on Tuesday that was the arrangement up to then.

But National People’s Congress local deputy Ip Kwok-him said he expected the central government to be making contingency plans for the inauguration of the new government.

This could include sending a senior official to the city to officiate at the swearing-in ceremony and having a state leader give a speech via teleconferencing, he said.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai and incoming chief secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki were on Thursday confirmed as infected with the coronavirus, the same day senior local officials entered a “closed-loop” arrangement aimed at protecting them from infection ahead of the anniversary.

“[The infections] will affect state leaders’ plans. If no state leader is coming, the central government will still send a representative to oversee the swearing-in,” Ip told the Post. “This official is more likely to be Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.”