過去幾日，大家紛紛聚焦關注台灣大選，但既然選舉落幕，在祝賀和恭喜台灣後，那就是時候把目光放回中港政局，尤其是我相信民進黨繼續完全執政，以及香港民主派在去年11月區選大勝，定必促使國台辦、港澳辦及中聯辦等系統面對更大內部動盪。
跟大家分享一篇在團隊幫忙下，以我名義在德國世界報（Die Welt am Sonntag）雙週專欄發表的文章，提到這位曾在香港中聯辦招待韓國瑜，如今被撤換掉的王志民，在日後如何影響中共對港政策等課題。
話說回來，當去年韓國瑜到中聯辦密會王志民，誰會料到事隔不夠一年，兩人落得如此下場。
In the beginning of the year, Hong Kong-ers were told by Peking that Luo Huining, 65, has been named the head of the Liaison Office, to replace Wang Zhimin, who had held the post since 2017. It is believed that such replacement hopes to address the misjudgement Hong Kong and Chinese government have made about the movement in Hong Kong. Luo, who is known for his enforcement of the Communist Party discipline, is at the age of retirement and has no former experience in Hong Kong matters. This means he has no close ties to any sectors or camps in the political arena of Hong Kong and does not have to struggle to stay in place, which makes him the perfect candidate to carry out Peking’s tasks to restore order in Hong Kong.
The Liaison Office , full named Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR is an institute of the Chinese government which reports to China’s State Council, serves as Beijing’s platform to project influence in the city. Its daily operation includes mobilising supporters to vote for pro-Peking political parties in District and Legislative Council elections, and clandestinely orchestrating electoral campaigns. They also supervise Chinese enterprises and the pro-Peking newspapers in Hong Kong and run the Communist Party cell in Hong Kong. For the past decade, its operation is referred to as “Sai Wan (the district where the Office is located) ruling Hong Kong” because it always acts beyond its jurisdiction and violates the “One Country, Two System” and the Basic Law and intervene Hong Kong government’s rule.
Similar replacement has happened in the history of Hong Kong before. In 1983, Xu Jiatun was named the director of the Hong Kong branch of the Xinhua News Agency (the official state-own news agency, the Liaison Office at the time in HK). Xu was also at the age of retirement and has no former experience in Hong Kong matters. Xu, in his memorial talked about the reason he was being placed in Hong Kong, he was told to handle the tasks of preparing for the Handover in 1997, and his role is to reflect the situation in Hong Kong truthfully because the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office at the time had failed to do so.
Similar to 1983, it suggests that there will be drastic changes in the work of the Peking in Hong Kong. In 1983, it is for the sake of preparing for the Handover, and this time, we believe, it is for the sake of initiating change by the Chinese government itself in addressing the political turmoil that came with the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement. The movement has revealed the deep-rooted unresolved problems between Hong Kong and China, there is no cure to the ideological and cultural differences the two places have. The Chinese government has found itself incompetent to restore order and stability in Hong Kong since June last year; Hong Kong-ers and the world see the reason to be the illegitimacy of a dictatorship that sparks discontent of the people; Peking itself assess it as the mistakes of policy direction and to resolve it only requires shifting into hardliner-tactics in handling Hong Kong matters. And hence, by replacing the director of Liaison Office, Peking convinces itself that enforcing the discipline of the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong will suffice in resolving the current political crisis.
It is worrying that Peking is under the illusion that merely adopting hardliner-approach would help, because the fundamental cause of the movement is not what tactics the Liaison Office undertakes, but the lack of legitimacy of the Hong Kong government. I believe adopting a stronger and more oppressive approach will only lead to more police brutality on the street, more injuries in protests and stronger opposition from Hong Kong-ers. The only cure to the situation is to listen and response to the people’s demands but not appointing new puppets in Hong Kong.
Search