Loose cannons, not talk of Hong Kong independence or shady karaoke dealings, are Beijing’s real problem
Alice Wu is outraged that the loose mouth of a pro-Beijing lawyer has dented the promise of improving relations between Hong Kong and Beijing following Zhang Dejiang’s visit
Few could have guessed that Zhang Dejiang’s (張德江) visit to Hong Kong would be so quickly and amateurishly soured, such that I wonder whether Zhang and the rest of the leading “grandpas” in Beijing are fuming inside or laughing out loud. Zhang’s visit was obviously momentous – he came to set some things straight in the right conciliatory tone at a critical time amid deteriorating Hong Kong-Beijing relations.
Obviously, Beijing considered delivering that message of utmost importance, and was not going to let protests and political theatrics hijack it; thus, the high security alert and prominent police presence.
Hope and fears: Zhang Dejiang visits Hong Kong
As it turned out, it was a so-called “Beijing loyalist”, rather than the usual suspects, who snapped the olive branch that Zhang offered, just days after the National People’s Congress Standing Committee chairman concluded his visit. Just as the authorities were working on plans for a short trip to Shenzhen for Hong Kong lawmakers, following Zhang’s groundbreaking meeting with four pan-democrats, we have trigger-happy barrister Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok to thank for being the killjoy.
Beijing ‘has the laws, guns and cannons to prevent independence’, legal expert warns
As executive council chairman of the China-Australia Legal Exchange Foundation, Ma led the group on a three-day tour to Beijing earlier this month, during which members had a closed-door meeting with Basic Law Committee vice-chairman Zhang Rongshun ( 張榮順 ). Once back in Hong Kong, Ma told the media that Zhang Rongshun had said Beijing would respond with “guns and cannon” to any push for Hong Kong independence.
