By Lau Siu-kai

In March last year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) decided to establish the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee (HKMWO), based on the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, as an administrative agency of the Party Central Committee, and appointed Xia Baolong as its director. 

The establishment of the HKMWO testifies to the strengthening of the leadership of the CPC over Hong Kong affairs, allowing the Party Central Committee to better coordinate Hong Kong-related work of the various departments and the units of the Party and the State to ensure the stable and long-term implementation of “one country, two systems”, promote Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and safeguard national security and accelerate Hong Kong’s integration into the overall national development. 

On Feb. 22, Xia arrived in Hong Kong for his second inspection trip to the city as the director of the HKMWO. Upon his arrival, Xia pointed out that, “This visit to Hong Kong for investigation and research is to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s speech when he listened to Chief Executive, John Lee’s work report in December last year and to understand Hong Kong’s economic development, local governance, and other conditions on the spot. We will work together with the special administrative region government and all sectors of society to plan a new stage and development for Hong Kong, to better safeguard Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, and to promote the stability and long-term development of ‘one country, two systems’.” 

In December last year, President Xi told Chief Executive John Lee that the central authorities would fully support the Chief Executive and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to unite and galvanize all sectors of society to seize the historic opportunities brought by the country’s development, consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade center, and enable Hong Kong to achieve a better growth. 

Xia’s inspection activities generally revolved around the primary purposes of his visit to the city. Purposefully, Xia’s visit was made after district councils were elected in November last year via the new electoral method that fully embodied the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, and at a time when the one-month consultation exercise on local legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law was about to end, and when the financial secretary of the SAR government is about to release a new budget. Xia also took the advantage of this inspection trip to better understand the progress of Hong Kong’s local governance and the opinions and concerns of various parties on the proposed Article 23 legislation, as well as the financial situation and policy direction of the SAR government.

From a political perspective, Xia’s inspection visit is of great significance. It has important implications for the practice of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, the future governance and policies of the SAR government, and the future development of Hong Kong. This inspection trip came when Hong Kong faced severe economic, social, livelihood and development challenges. Enhancing the governance ability and efficacy of the SAR government to better equip Hong Kong to cope with the challenges ahead and even turn crises into opportunities appears to be what Xia has uppermost in mind.

During this inspection trip, Xia conveyed several critical messages to all walks of life in Hong Kong and the international community through extensive contact with the SAR government and all sectors of society.

First, Xia’s inspection trip shows that the central government’s exercise of comprehensive jurisdiction over the HKSAR has become a concrete practice. Under “one country, two systems”, the Chief Executive and the SAR government under him are accountable to the central government. Conversely, the central government enjoys the power and functions of leadership, supervision holding the Chief Executive accountable, and guidance over the Chief Executive and the SAR government. Xia’s inspection trip allowed the central government to have a comprehensive and deep understanding on all aspects of Hong Kong and on the work of the SAR government. Based on this comprehensive investigation and research, the central government can obtain a clearer understanding on the work performance and effectiveness of the SAR government, supervise and hold it accountable in a timelier and more appropriate manner, and provide encouragement, guidance and requirements for improving its future work.

Second, Xia once again reiterated the central government’s requirements and expectations for improving the governance capabilities and effectiveness of the SAR government. As early as July 1, 2017, President Xi Jinping already urged the SAR government to further improve governance and create a strong impetus for growth for Hong Kong. He pointed out that, “The chief executive and the government of the HKSAR in the driver’s seat are the first to be held responsible for the governance (of the SAR).” Xi further demanded that “administrators of Hong Kong need to have a new outlook on the homeland and have a global vision to make better development plans for the region from an overall and long-term perspective”, and promised that “the central government also fully supports Hong Kong in taking active yet prudent steps to advance reforms and dismantle the barriers of vested interests to unlock the enormous creativity and development potential of Hong Kong society.” On Dec 22, 2023, Xia stressed in an important speech that “the Chief Executive and the government of the SAR are the heads of Hong Kong and the first persons responsible for governing Hong Kong. They shoulder the mission of promoting the governance and prosperity of Hong Kong. The central government has high hopes for Hong Kong. The city’s residents are full of expectations.” He further elaborated, “I believe that the SAR government will continue to show a new trend of being courageous and successful at doing good things, better combine an active government with an efficient market, break down the barriers of entrenched interests, and strive to solve the deep-seated economic and social problems, fully unleash Hong Kong society’s huge creativity and development vitality.” 

In effect, both Xi and Xia expect the SAR government to overcome difficulties, resolve Hong Kong’s deep-seated contradictions, and propel Hong Kong’s development to a new level in a more proactive, courageous, responsible, reformist, and innovative spirit. The SAR government is encouraged to demonstrate a firm overall grasp of the national and international situations and work with the central government to map Hong Kong’s long-term development path and strategy. 

The SAR government is encouraged to eschew the past short-term thinking and the unquestioning belief in market dominance and to formulate a development strategy under the government’s leadership that would benefit Hong Kong’s long-term development and allow the city to better contribute to the country’s development. 

In particular, the SAR government must be decisive and courageous in implementing reforms to overcome the opposition of various vested interests to its policies on land and housing, supporting new industries, broadening its international economic space, improving people’s livelihoods, and helping disadvantaged groups. Only through overcoming the opposition, resistance and obstruction of vested interests can Hong Kong unleash its development potential, chart a new development path, strengthen governance, and promote social fairness and justice. The central government will provide the SAR government with staunch support for breaking down the barriers of entrenched interests.

Third, Xia’s trip transmits President Xi and the central government’s solicitude, love and support for Hong Kong to boost residents’ confidence in the city’s prospects. At present, in the face of slow economic growth, falling asset prices, declining competitiveness of the traditional pillar industries, severe people’s livelihood issues, the weak recovery of the mainland economy, global economic downturn and uncertainty, economic challenges from neighboring countries and regions, the continued rivalry between China and the U.S.-led West, and the spewing of economic gloominess about Hong Kong by some local and Western experts, Hong Kong society is filled with anxiety and even pessimism about the city’s future. 

When meeting with people from all walks of life in Hong Kong and with foreign business representatives, Xia deliberately reminded them of Hong Kong’s unique advantages. The significance of Hong Kong as an international financial center, the crucial importance of the city to China, the outstanding contribution from Hong Kong can make it to national development, the significance of Hong Kong as a bridge between the mainland and the rest of the world, and the central government’s great confidence in the city’s future. 

He urged all sectors of society to actively use and continuously develop Hong Kong’s competitive advantages, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of Hong Kong’s industries, inject new impetus into Hong Kong’s long-term development, and pledged that the central government will increase its efforts to bolster Hong Kong’s development. 

During Xia’s inspection trip, the central government announced that residents of Xi’an and Qingdao can travel to Hong Kong via the Individual Visit Scheme, thus increasing the number of mainland cities under the program to fifty-one. That number will increase step by step in the future. More importantly, the central government will continue introducing new policies and measures to benefit Hong Kong, promote its development, tackle its complex social problems, and accelerate its integration into the country’s overall development. The central government’s rosy expectations, careful planning, complete trust, and strong support for Hong Kong will raise residents’ confidence in the city and their future.

Fourth, Xia called on all walks of life in Hong Kong to carry forward the spirit of helping each other, demonstrating solidarity, and supporting the work of the SAR government in the face of adversity. The district councils and the district services and community care teams will play a helpful role in promoting the well-being of people in need. 

At the same time, the SAR government must govern Hong Kong with fairness and justice, showing sympathy for the weak, leading by example, living up to the expectations of the people, and winning the trust, respect, understanding and support of residents, so that Hong Kong can better cope with adversity by employing drastic policies. The central government hopes that all sectors of society can willingly make “sacrifices” to varying degrees so they can go through difficult times together and still unite and maintain social stability. 

Notwithstanding that the unrest that ravaged Hong Kong for many years has subsided since the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL), internal and external hostile forces will not give up their conspiracies to harm Hong Kong and thereby also harm China as a whole. They will still be ready to take advantage of social conflicts exacerbated by adversity to cause trouble. Even with the NSL and the eventual local legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, the central government still urges Hong Kong residents to be prepared for danger in times of peace and remain highly vigilant against any factors and forces that endanger national security and Hong Kong’s stability.

In short, Xia’s visit to Hong Kong conveys the central government’s solicitude, expectations and requirements for the SAR government and all sectors of society in a time of difficulties and challenges. His pronouncements have essential reference value and guiding significance for Hong Kong’s future governance and development.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is emeritus professor of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; consultant, Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.

Source: China Daily