Hong Kong’s new top Basic Law official: the bureaucrat involved in drafting recent amendments to China’s constitution

A mainland official involved in the drafting of the recent historic amendments to China’s constitution has been appointed to lead the body that advises Beijing on Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

In what is being seen as a move to highlight the importance of the national constitution for Hong Kong and Macau, bureaucrat Shen Chunyao was named on Wednesday by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) as head of both the Basic Law committees of the two cities, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Shen, 57, replaces Li Fei, who has been promoted to succeed Qiao Xiaoyang as chair of the newly renamed Law and Constitution Committee, which oversees national legal and constitutional issues.

Before the appointment, Shen chaired the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPCSC, China’s top legislative body, and was involved in drafting the constitutional amendments that included strengthening the ruling power of the Communist Party and lifting the two-term limit on the president’s post.

Shen fended off criticism over the amendments at a press conference in Beijing on March 11, when the National People’s Congress endorsed them.