Beijing’s top office on Hong Kong affairs gets revamp with wider scope, will report directly to Communist Party’s central leadership

Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs will be restructured into a higher-level outfit reporting directly to the Communist Party’s central leadership in a move seen as a de facto promotion for the body and underscoring the city’s importance to the country’s overall development plans.

Sources familiar with the shake-up said Xia Baolong, director of the present Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), would stay on as head of the new body to continue to supervise and implement the restructuring over the transitional period.

Confirming an earlier Post report, Thursday’s announcement came just three days after China concluded its annual meetings of the legislature and top political advisory body.

With the change, the high-level body formed on the basis of the HKMAO will answer to the party’s Central Committee instead of the State Council, according to the latest “Party and State Institutional Reform Plan’’ report published on Thursday evening.

Setting out the enhanced scope of the new body, the report said it would “commit to the duties of investigating, researching, coordinating and supervising the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, the comprehensive jurisdiction of the central government, and governance of Hong Kong and Macau in accordance with the law”.