Beijing underlines its jurisdiction and desire for urgent action by laying down targets for incoming Hong Kong leader, analysts say
- Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office has laid out five expectations for incoming government of John Lee
- ‘The new team must have the sense of a mission to deliver after taking up their positions in July,’ one expert says
Beijing’s decision to lay out explicit targets for the incoming Hong Kong government signals its determination to exercise “comprehensive jurisdiction” over the city and has injected a sense of urgency for the new administration to deliver, according to analysts.
The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) laid out five expectations for Lee’s government, stressing it should tackle deep-rooted problems, especially housing, with “clearer targets”, “greater courage” and “stronger action”.
The office also urged the new administration to do more to help Hong Kong further integrate with national development plans, raise the city’s profile overseas and develop technology and education, in addition to strictly adhering to the “one country two systems” model of governance.
No such statement was issued when the government line-up of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was announced in 2017, although there were media reports at the time that then HKMAO director Wang Guangya had given the incoming principal officials “some encouragement” during a meeting in Shenzhen.
Professor Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said the expectations spelled out by the HKMAO in its statement reflected the central government’s determination to exercise comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong.
“The five expectations will be the key indicators used by the central government in future to assess the performance of principal officials in Hong Kong,” Lau said. “Some of the previous administrations in Hong Kong did not conscientiously implement some tasks assigned by the central government.
“In the past, the central government did not hold top officials in Hong Kong accountable for failing to meet the central government’s expectations. But there will be consequences if they fail to deliver.”
