[Epoch Times, May 31, 2022]A few days ago, Hong Kong’s chief executive-designate, Li Jiachao, went to Beijing to accept the letter of appointment issued by Li Keqiang. He was also received by Xi Jinping on the same day. The outside world noticed that on these two occasions, there were two unusual places in the attendance of the participants.
On May 30, Li Jiachao accepted the letter of appointment as Hong Kong’s chief executive issued by Premier Li Keqiang of the Chinese Communist Party at Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai, and will take office on July 1. In the afternoon, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping met with Li Jiachao.
The outside world noticed that on the occasion of the meeting between Xi and Li, there were two unusual aspects in the attendance of the participants: one was that only Vice Premier Han Zheng, who is also the leader of the Central Leading Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who is also the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council. Vice Chairman Xia Baolong was present; the other was Luo Huining who was not accompanied.
The Hong Kong media “Ming Pao” commented on May 31 that, perhaps due to the epidemic, the number of participants in the two events from the central government has dropped significantly compared with previous similar occasions. Only Han Zheng and Xia Baolong attended the two events. When meeting with Li Keqiang, there was Xiao Jie, State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council.
When Liang Zhenying and Carrie Lam were appointed in Beijing that year, the director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, the director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee, the director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office, and the deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office attended the ceremony, but now they are all gone.
The article stated that after Li Jiachao was elected, he visited Luo Huining, director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office, on May 9, but Luo did not accompany Li to Beijing to accept the appointment as usual. The article believes that Luo will turn 68 years old in October this year. Even if the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China can reach a higher level, he should not be the director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office again.
Li Jiachao, a former Hong Kong security chief, was nominated by a small “election committee” loyal to Beijing to be the next chief executive in early May and is the only candidate to succeed Carrie Lam.
According to the BBC’s previous report, after the “anti-extradition” turmoil in 2019, Li Jiachao’s popularity has been in negative numbers for a long time. Many polls show that nearly half of Hong Kong citizens are not satisfied with him.
Zheng Yushuo, a retired political science professor at the City University of Hong Kong, told VOA that Beijing will directly dominate Hong Kong’s governance in the future, and the scope is expected to extend from the previous policy and election system to epidemic prevention, medical care, service education and other areas that Beijing has rarely directly controlled. the indicated category.
The European Union has issued a statement that Hong Kong’s chief executive election violated the principles of democracy and political pluralism, and regretted it. This is another step in the direction of dismantling the “one country, two systems” principle for Hong Kong.
Wang He, a current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times on May 30 that Li Jiachao’s election as the chief executive was the result of the “one country, two systems” practice in Hong Kong over the past 25 years and achieved “a universally recognized bankruptcy.” Li Jiachao is the only candidate, indicating that there is no one under the CCP; he was a police chief, indicating that Hong Kong’s civil society has died and the “police rule of the country” has begun.
Responsible editor: Xu Menger#