China’s third-ranked Communist Party leader Zhang Dejiang said Hong Kong shouldn’t “politicise everything” and should instead focus on integrating its economy with China’s, according to members of Chi
China’s third-ranked Communist Party leader Zhang Dejiang said Hong Kong shouldn’t “politicise everything” and should instead focus on integrating its economy with China’s, according to members of China’s Parliament who met him on Sunday.
A day after Premier Li Keqiang pledged greater economic support for Hong Kong at the opening of annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing, Mr Zhang said that while a recent riot in Hong Kong was a concern, it was one the city’s government could handle.
“He (Zhang) said one needed to take a broader perspective to look at it, and to not politicise everything,” said Ms Rita Fan, a standing committee member of China’s Parliament chaired by Mr Zhang.
The Chinese media has blamed the riot in early February on “radical separatists” seeking to destabilise Hong Kong.
Other delegates who met Mr Zhang said that while Mr Zhang didn’t single out anyone for blame, there remained concern among Beijing’s top leaders towards an embittered cluster of youth groups in Hong Kong using increasingly radical or violent means to demand greater autonomy.
China maintains Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and as such resolutely opposes any moves towards independence.
Reuters was not able to contact Mr Zhang for comment. Calls to China’s Hong Kong and Macao affairs office in Beijing after regular business hours went unanswered.
“They worry about the rise of separatism,” said Mr Lau Siu-kai, a former senior Hong Kong government adviser who met Mr Zhang on Friday with other members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a top parliamentary advisory body.
“If something big happens in Hong Kong that is seen as threatening national security, I don’t expect China to wait, they may take the initiative to protect national security,” Mr Lau said.
Hong Kong was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” framework granting it broad freedoms and an independent judiciary, though with Beijing having ultimate authority.
As for the disappearances of five Hong Kong booksellers who published gossipy books of China’s leaders, the issue wasn’t raised by Mr Zhang, despite lingering questions about the cases.
Meanwhile, a second Hong Kong bookseller who went missing and was found to have been detained in China returned home on Sunday, refusing to discuss his case, the Hong Kong police said.
Cheung Chi Ping was one of five Hong Kong booksellers specialising in gossipy publications about Chinese leaders to go missing last year. A colleague from the same store re-appeared in the city on Friday.
“Cheung Chi Ping requested the police to cancel his missing person case and stated that he did not require any assistance from the Hong Kong special administrative region government or police,” the police said in a statement.
“Cheung refused to disclose other details,” it added.
Two of the others, Mr Gui Minhai and Mr Lee Bo had been outside mainland China when they disappeared. Mr Gui was in Thailand and Mr Lee in Hong Kong.
All of the booksellers recently surfaced to give interviews on Chinese television saying they had travelled voluntarily to China. But the British government maintains Mr Lee had been “involuntarily removed” from Hong Kong.
