Zhang Dejiang, China’s third-ranked leader, warned the people of Hong Kong not to “seek secession in the name of localism” during a three-day visit to the Special Administration Region that ended Thursday.
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Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, a lawmaker from the commercial sector, said: “The central government cares about Hong Kong’s economy, which is facing downward pressure amid the drop in mainland visitors”.
Before the event, Zhang held discussions with more than 40 participants, including principal officials of the Hong Kong SAR government, non-official members of the Executive Council, some members of the legislative council, chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal and chief justice of the High Court, and representatives of District Council chairmen.
Zhang further stated that Hong Kong will remain under the said principle, and any conjecture of changing it is “groundless”.
Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, Zhang Dejiang gives speech at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong, Wednesday, May 18, 2016.
Zhang reiterated that abiding by the one country, two systems principle and the Basic Law was the best way forward for the city while dismissing calls for self-determination and independence as unfeasible. “I don’t believe the Chinese would destroy it”, said Chan, adding: “Hong Kong people would not be afraid of fighting to the end if their land is invaded”.
Furthermore, Hong Kong can help to promote cultural exchanges for greater mutual understanding among the people along the route of the Belt and Road; and deepen cooperation with the mainland and jointly develop markets along the route, he said.
“The calls for self-determination, for Hong Kong independence or whatever, can not achieve anything”.
Hong Kong police had no immediate comment.
The clash was the first serious conflict during Zhang’s three-day visit, in large part because Hong Kong authorities had worked diligently to project an illusion of political peace.
“This is not the “rule of law” as we understand it in Hong Kong”, Michael Davis, an expert on Chinese and Hong Kong law at the University of Hong Kong, told TIME on Thursday.
They said as democratically elected legislators, they shouldn’t stop Leung from running for a second term.
Hong Kong is semi-autonomous after being handed back to China by Britain in 1997 and enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, but there are concerns Beijing’s interference is growing in a range of areas, from politics to education and the media. If Hong Kong falls into chaos, then everybody will have to pay the price.
“I think the main point of his visit was to reassure and to win some people over and encourage others”, Cai said.
“Many people are not happy [with Leung]”, Lau said.
Chan rejected recent warnings from Hong Kong officials that those who advocate something not contained in the Basic Law might be targeted for criminal prosecution, in spite of free speech protections hard-wired into the city’s mini-constitution.
As social and economic development is of great importance for improving people’s quality of life and maintaining Hong Kong’s worldwide prestige, society should shift its focus back to boosting Hong Kong’s development, Zhang said.
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The Chinese leader briefly touched on the 2014 pro-democracy movement, but choose not to speak on several contentious issues including next year’s chief executive election and the detention of five Hong Kong publishers last year.
