A pro-democracy activist, right, waves banner and shout slogans against pro-government protesters, left, outside the convention center where the Chinese Communist Party’s third-highest ranking official, Zhang Dejiang, gave a spee…
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While Zhang is ostensibly visiting to speak at an economic conference on Wednesday, the trip is widely seen as a bid to take the temperature in an increasingly divided city with a fledgling independence movement.
China’s top legislator Zhang Dejiang delivered a speech at the Summit on Belt and Road yesterday, emphasising the importance of Hong Kong’s role in the Belt and Road Initiative.
“Those saying the central government wants to mainlandise Hong Kong or even turn “one country, two systems” into “one country, one system” have no grounds”, he said, referring to the city’s semi-autonomous system of government.
The Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling party’s People’s Daily newspaper, said there was no chance of independence for Hong Kong but it called Zhang’s meeting with the pro-democracy members of the city’s legislative assembly an “important breakthrough”.
Following those demonstrations, some activists have been calling for an outright breakaway from China.
He noted there was “very nice weather” in both Beijing and Hong Kong, and said he would look at the work of the Hong Kong government and the changes in the lives of city residents.
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Speaking to a group of people who met him at the Central Government Offices here, Zhang noted that Hong Kong is a diverse society and hence it is understandable that there are multifaceted cultures, thoughts and interests among locals.
Al Jazeera’s Sarah Clarke, reporting from Hong Kong, said: “With just three protest sites set up within a secure zone in the central part of the city, fighting between the pro and anti-China groups wasn’t a surprise”.
He noted that Hong Kong will be able to make an important contribution to Belt and Road because it has advantages in terms of location and professional services; it serves as the first mover of opening and cooperation; and it has advantages gained from cultural and people-to-people interactions.
Zhang will attend a banquet at the convention center later Wednesday, where he plans to meet four more moderate democratic lawmakers despite boycott vows by most of their colleagues.
One of China’s most powerful officials said he would listen to political demands from Hongkongers in a conciliatory start to a visit that has stirred anger in a city resentful of Beijing’s tightening grip. But if Hong Kong is chaotic, everyone will have to foot the bill. That last matter is a sine qua non to move forward in the relationships between Hong Kong and the Chinese government and the legislature and the executive.
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.
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In another sign of official nervousness over the visit, authorities glued together sidewalk paving stones to prevent them from being ripped up and hurled by protesters.
