Friday, August 8, 2014, 08:21
By Joseph Li in Hong Kong
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| Zhang Xiaoming (L), head of the city's Beijing liaison, addresses a luncheon attended by Hong Kong Legislative Council members and Beijing top officials in Hong Kong on July 16, 2013. (AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez) |
Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, made his point at the meeting of the organizing committee of the forthcoming 65th National Day on Oct 1.
Zhang quoted late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping as saying that while a high degree of autonomy has been conferred by the central government, "One Country, Two Systems" does not mean total autonomy, or else it would be “two Chinas” and not “one China”.
It means the central government’s power in Hong Kong is not limited to defense and foreign affairs, it can also get involved in other Hong Kong issues.
With reference to the relationship between central and local authorities, Zhang stressed that to save the SAR from being exploited, under the pretext of democracy, as an anti-China base by foreign forces, universal suffrage in Hong Kong must be viewed with national security in mind.
"The central government has reiterated time and again that the Chief Executive returned by universal suffrage must love the country and love Hong Kong, and must not confront the central government. Anyone who looks at this from the national security perspective will understand,” he pointed out.
"This is a supreme principle, for no central authorities, in China or overseas, ancient or contemporary, would allow heads of local authorities to confront the central authorities,” he added.
Zhang was pleased that increasingly more people understand this point, as reflected by over a million people signing the petition in support of universal suffrage and against “Occupy Central”.
"These are the biggest public opinions,” he said, adding that only by rational, pragmatic communication to attain a consensus, can Hong Kong implement the mechanism to elect the Chief Executive by universal suffrage in 2017.
Zhang reassured Hong Kong people that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the central government’s Hong Kong policy would remain unchanged and need no modification.
He said the white paper issued by the State Council in June attempted to examine the implementation of “One Country, Two Systems” and its rich content over the past 17 years and spelled out Beijing’s stance regarding several issues of concern, including constitutional reform.
"The white paper has nothing new about Hong Kong policy. Even renowned think tank Chatham House agreed the white paper has not formulated any new policy on Hong Kong,” he told the audience.
He criticized those who had claimed the white paper involved significant policy change as either twisting it, or being over-sensitive.
"If there are people who think there are big policy changes, they are either willfully distorting the white paper or worrying too much. This shows they have not grasped an accurate understanding of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ from the very beginning.”
Referring to the Yunnan earthquakes, Zhang thanked Hong Kong people for their sympathy towards the victims.
joseph@chinadailyhk.com
