Hong Kong political party becomes first to visit US since imposition of national security law, vows to promote city amid strained relations
- Trip by six Bauhinia Party members coincides with high-stakes visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to mainland China
- Li Shan, founder of pro-Beijing group, tells the Post main goal is to ‘have dialogue and share what has been happening … since the national security law was enacted’
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“We will tell the true stories about China, and also offer our observations and suggestions on how to better manage the China-US relationship, hoping that both Beijing and Washington can continue to benefit from the sustained prosperity of Hong Kong,” he said.
Li, a Sichuan-born banker who has lived in Hong Kong for more than two decades and is also a delegate to the national committee of the mainland’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), added his delegation would have closed-door meetings with relevant US government agencies.
The State Department, Congress and prominent think tanks, including the Brookings Institution and the Asia Society, are among bodies the group plans to meet.
He called Hong Kong “a vital bridge between China and the US”, pointing to the city’s edge in being the only common law jurisdiction on Chinese soil. Li said the city remained “the best place” to promote exchanges and understanding between the two powers despite setbacks in US-China relations.
Wu Junfei, the party’s research chief, said the political group advocated a realistic approach of “parallel and crossover partnership” for the two countries, in which each side respected the other’s different social systems and values but collaborated in development across trade, science and the economy.
Louis Ching, another senior member of the party and chair of the Hong Kong-listed PT International Development Corp, said the city was still the best place for US firms to invest in China’s capital markets.
“Hong Kong is now unique among global financial centres in offering international investors access to the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as access to mainland China’s onshore fixed income market,” Ching said.
Other senior Bauhinia Party members in the delegation include: Charles Wang Hongxin, chairman of Shenzhen Academia Capital Management; Professor Naubahar Sharif, acting head of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s public policy division; and pianist Scarlett Chen Jie.
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From its initial focus of representing the voice of mainland communities in Hong Kong, the party – founded in 2020 – has expanded its reach to include local business leaders and expatriates in a bid to diversify its membership base over the last two years.
The group previously made a proposal to maintain the “one country, two systems” policy beyond the official 2047 timeline. It is yet to win a seat in the city’s legislature.
Hong Kong has been caught in the middle of worsening US-China relations, especially after Beijing imposed the national security law on the city in 2020 in response to the social turmoil the year before.
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Washington responded by slapping sanctions on 11 mainland and Hong Kong officials – including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu – for their role in “undermining the autonomy [and] restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of Hong Kong citizens”.
