2023-06-30 23:57:16
Ye Jingsi, BBC Chinese correspondent, reports from Hong Kong
9 hours ago
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A year ago, Lee Kar-chao became the first Hong Kong chief executive to come from the police force.
On July 1, 2022, in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, in front of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of China, Li Jiachao was sworn in as the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, officially becoming the first chief executive who was born in the police system. On the occasion of his full year in office, interviews with Li Jiachao and signed articles by Li Jiachao have been published one after another in recent days.
Most of these reports and articles from official media listed Li Jiachao’s “achievements” in the past year. Zheng Yanxiong, the highest representative of the Chinese government in Hong Kong and director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office, even said: “The familiar and lovely Hong Kong in the past has returned.”
However, the public’s discussion on the geometry of his political achievements does not seem to be particularly enthusiastic. Yang Jianxing, a senior news editor in Hong Kong, recalled that in the past, every anniversary of the handover of power, there would always be various civil organizations holding press conferences, commenting on the merits and demerits of the SAR government in the past year, and making appeals, “But pay attention to these few Heavenly Hong Kong, there is no such atmosphere.”
What exactly is written in Li Jiachao’s first “report form” seems to be a question of different opinions.
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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and Beijing’s implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, street protests have all but disappeared. In the following years, the Hong Kong government continued to “reform” all aspects of society.
From Li Jiachao’s election, all kinds of slogans
A year ago, Li Jiachao came to the stage with many slogans, such as “targeting results”, “there are many problems, but one is solved every day, and there are 365 in a year”, and he talked about KPI (key performance indicators).
Li Jiachao said: “Time waits for no one. (The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government) is chasing time, chasing results, and chasing achievements, so that citizens feel that our policies have really benefited them, and they have happiness and hope.”
At the end of the video, Lee Ka-chao and Huang Zhiyuan, special assistant to the Chief Executive’s Office, said together: “So we must win trust with actions, draw closer with results, and build mutual trust with results.”
Li Jiachao was also published in the Chinese state-owned enterprise publication “Bauhinia”Publish a signed articlesaying that his government has “struggled to improve the level of governance”, “continuously strengthened the momentum of development”, “resolved people’s livelihood difficulties” and “jointly maintained harmony and stability” in the past year, including the “simple public housing” plan, the establishment of “introduction of key enterprises” Office”, “Talent Service Window”, and launched “High-end Talent Pass Program”, etc.
“Generally, I don’t think he has made any specific breakthrough changes this year.” Dr. Chung Jianhua, a Hong Kong public administration scholar in the UK, commented on Li Jiachao’s first year as chief executive.
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Over the past year, the Hong Kong government has launched campaigns such as “Ni Hao Hong Kong”.
Zhong Jianhua told BBC Chinese: “It can be said that welfare has not been mentioned at all, and labor has not been mentioned at all, so what is left is some large-scale development projects – “Lantau Tomorrow”, those in the northern metropolitan area – In fact, we can’t see any breakthrough progress, and even the financing plan is still in the air.”
Both the northern metropolitan area and the “Lantau Tomorrow Vision” are left behind by the previous chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. In the “Bauhinia” article, Li Jiachao said that the relevant projects are “progressing in sequence”; “Ta Kung Pao”, which is directly under the Chinese government in Hong Kong, recently published an exclusive interview with Financial Secretary Chen Maobo. Chen Maobo said that the financing arrangements for the two projects “will Adopt innovative thinking in financing to reduce government financial pressure.”
Current affairs commentator Yang Jianxing feels that “there are not many things that can be counted” in order to take stock of Li Jiachao’s actual achievements in the past year.
About a year and a half ago, Yang Jianxing, who was still the editor-in-chief of “Zhongxin”, said to BBC Chinese: “In the past 12 months, the SAR government has taken many actions, many slogans, many new gadgets, many structural changes, and many ” “Working Group” and many campaigns—the “Happy Hong Kong” type—but very real things, such as the recovery of the economy after the epidemic is slower than expected, and the stock market and finances are not ideal.”
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On June 30, the day before the anniversary of the establishment of the special zone, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 18,916 points, down 17 points from the previous day.
On the day before the anniversary of the establishment of the “July 1” special zone, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 18,916 points on June 30, a drop of 17 points from the previous day, but a drop of 864 points from the first trading day in 2023, a cumulative drop of 4.37%.
Judging from public opinion surveys, Li Jiachao’s support rate is not particularly high: the monthly official opinion survey released by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Program in mid-June showed that Li Jiachao’s support rate was 44%; the poll released by Sing Tao News Group at the end of June showed that 57.6% % of the citizens are satisfied with the work performance of the SAR government; in the online poll released by “Hong Kong 01” at the end of June, with 10 points out of 10, Lee Ka-chao scored 5.2 points in his first year of administration.
“Scores are given by others,” Li Jiachao said in an exclusive interview with Hong Kong’s China News Agency, which is affiliated with the official China News Agency.
Li Jiachao also said that in his first “Policy Address” published in October 2022, he proposed to recruit 35,000 high-quality overseas talents. Exceeded the target. China News Agency said, “The data have confirmed the attractiveness of Hong Kong.”
Li Jiachao also told the official China Central Television: “In fact, after we cleared the customs, the 10 million (visiting) tourist mark has been broken in the first five months. Especially now that the atmosphere is good and consumption is particularly active. Restaurants, tourist attractions The city is full of people, very lively. And I see that the citizens are much happier than before.”
But there are also pro-establishment remarks that have raised doubts about Li Jiachao’s first year of administration.
Tu Haiming, deputy director of the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and vice president of the “One Country, Two Systems” and Basic Law Research Institute of Guangzhou Jinan University, commented on the Li Jiachao government’s introduction of talents and the recent announcement of the opening of some industries to introduce foreign workers in the column of “Economic Journal”, saying: “No. Tangled in the minutiae, focusing on the overall and long-term interests of Hong Kong, making decisive decisions and making bold moves. The SAR government’s style of doing things is refreshing!”
But Tu Haiming said at the same time: “The current government’s improvement of people’s livelihood has highlighted “urgency, difficulty and anxiety”. It makes people “not flattered”.
Dai Qingcheng, a columnist for Singapore’s “Straits Times” and the convener of the Hong Kong Institute of Research and Research, said in an article: “If Hong Kong wants to maintain its advantages in international competition, it must keep running, or even double its pace, otherwise it will lose its original advantages.” Li Jiachao In the film, it is described that the world is changing rapidly, and if it does not advance, it will retreat, so “Hong Kong cannot slow down and cannot wait” is on point. The question is: what tactics does the Hong Kong government have to deal with it?”
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National security first?
Dr. Zhong Jianhua said: “Over the past year, I think the most prominent thing is the suppression of civil society, and the emphasis on national security in everything.”
“It’s getting more and more detailed. Now even schools have to include national security clauses in the school’s bidding for meals. What Li Jiachao has done the most is to add national security clauses in different links.”
Li Jiachao said in an exclusive interview with China News Agency: “I am an impatient person, but I must also be cautious… Hong Kong is not only troubled by the epidemic, our problems have accumulated more than any government, and we have experienced “black violence” ( “Anti-extradition” demonstrations in 2019), the Legislative Council dragged down the government’s governance, a double blow. “
He also told CCTV: “Of course our current Hong Kong society is generally stable and very safe, but the destructive forces will not relax under the background I just mentioned, and they will continue.”
On June 20th, before attending the executive meeting, Li Jiachao was asked by the media about the situation of the “July 1st” commemoration day and said: “Anyone who uses this opportunity to hijack, or create a bad atmosphere or conduct destructive activities, we will definitely investigate The legal responsibilities of the people concerned will not allow similar incidents to hijack this day of celebration.”
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Since the NPC promulgated the “Hong Kong National Security Law”, official public opinion in Beijing and Hong Kong has repeatedly emphasized that Hong Kong has entered the stage of “government and prosperity”.
In the past few months, the Li Jiachao government has raised the theory of “soft confrontation” from time to time, describing it as an act that threatens China’s national security. He even said that “not breaking the law does not mean that you cannot cause damage.”
In this context, the so-called “Article 23 legislation” has been put on the agenda again. Li Jiachao stated that legislation will be made in 2024 at the latest. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China promulgated the “Hong Kong National Security Law” three years ago. Acts are criminalized in Hong Kong, but Shen Chunyao, director of the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, stated at the time that Hong Kong still needs to complete local national security legislation in accordance with Article 23 of Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” and criminalize other acts that endanger China’s national security.
The representatives of Beijing in Hong Kong expressed their approval of these thinking: Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong, attended the “July 1” celebration of pro-government non-governmental organizations on June 30 and said: “Looking back on the previous years, the severe Compared with today’s new atmosphere of gathering guests and bursting with vitality, everyone realizes more clearly that Hong Kong can no longer confuse itself in the wrong direction, and can no longer be used or deceived by others.
“Everyone has also seen more clearly that the stronger the ‘one country’ is, the more exciting the ‘two systems’ will be.”
Hong Kong’s restrictions imposed by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19; novel coronavirus disease) outbreak came to an end with the full withdrawal of the “mask order” on March 1. The parade resumed, but some members of the former pro-democracy group tried to apply for the “May 1st” Labor Day parade, but they withdrew their application after being suspected of being investigated by the National Security Department of the police; Pro-government associations rented out a carnival, and the police took away many people around Victoria Park.
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On the 34th anniversary of the “June 4th” incident, Victoria Park in Hong Kong did not hold a candlelight rally for the fourth consecutive year. Many people were taken away by the police around Victoria Park.
Yang Jianxing believes that the Li Jiachao government’s emphasis on national security “a bit feels that it has gone too far”, “political tightening is already very tight, and there will be no significant relaxation in the foreseeable future.”
He also pointed out that on the eve of July 1st, the atmosphere of non-governmental organizations competing to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s governance to the media no longer exists.
Another change in the political atmosphere may also be reflected in the polls conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute: the Public Opinion Research Institute announced in early June that it would cancel the publication of the long-running annual “June 4th “Public opinion survey, and then announced that about a quarter of the regular survey questions will be canceled, and some of the remaining poll items will also be converted to internal reference and paid services.
The announcement of the Hong Kong Civil Research Institute stated: “Relevant topics initially include the reunification series, identity recognition, cross-strait issues, world vision, the June 4th incident, parliamentarian ratings, military popularity, and some social indicators.”
Zhong Jianhua, who was the deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Civil Research Institute, told BBC Chinese: “It is not the first time that the National Security Department has advised not to publish the survey of the Civil Research Institute.” He is unwilling to further discuss the situation of the Hong Kong Civil Research Institute.
Chen Jingxiang, former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Economic Journal and a professor of professional application in the Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, also raised concerns about this situation when he wrote an article in Ming Pao to comment on Hong Kong’s competitive advantages: “From 2020, what we have seen is The public power of the government continues to expand, while the space for civil rights and freedom of the general public continues to shrink. Obviously, this is a trend that is going backwards and going against modern civilization, which is very disturbing.”
Chen Jingxiang said: “In the past year, there have been rumors that Hong Kong has begun to “govern and prosper”. It is undeniable that starting from 2022, Hong Kong will gradually get out of the predicament of social turmoil and panic. The society has stabilized and everything has returned to normal. The mainland and international traffic, which has been closed for three years, has also been fully reopened. But these are just “returning to normal” (returning to normal), everything starts from scratch; it is still very far away from the prosperous and comfortable “Jixing”.
unresolved social repression
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Non-establishment commentators disagree when Lee says Hong Kong citizens are “much happier than before.”
Yang Jianxing believes that since Beijing emphasized that it enjoys “comprehensive governance” over Hong Kong, Li Jiachao is the head of Hong Kong who “cooperates with Beijing more than any other chief executive”.
Zhong Jianhua also said: “He did not perform, which is exactly what he should do as the chief executive under the current situation.”
Regarding the “soft confrontation” that Li Jiachao and the officials shouted for vigilance, Zhong Jianhua believes that it does exist.
“You call on people to donate their organs, and they sign to stop donating; you ask people to get “consumer vouchers” to stay in Hong Kong and spend money to stimulate Hong Kong’s economy, and people use the money to travel to Taiwan and Japan. Such a “software” “Confrontation” is Li Jiachao’s biggest headache.”
“Because the government has no appeal and cannot rebuild people’s trust in the current government.”
Professor Cheng Kwok-han, the president of Lingnan University in Hong Kong, is about to retire. He said at a banquet recently that the SAR government “has the greatest responsibility” to lead the society “on the road of reconciliation and promote social harmony.” People should emigrate elsewhere.
Several Hong Kong media quoted Zheng Guohan as saying: “You are not happy here, and it is impossible to achieve “Hong Kong independence”. So he went to a place that suits him better, so that the society will have less tension. He can change people, and leave if he feels that Hong Kong is not suitable. Whoever feels right will come in.”
Chung Jian-wah, who lives in the UK, believes that the next wave of Hong Kong’s “immigration wave” that has been going on for some time will be older or even retired Hong Kong people leaving with their savings. He told BBC Chinese that he has recently received several friends who have “traveled and explored” in the UK.
Chen Jingxiang wrote in “Ming Pao”: “After a great turmoil, the first thing the new government should do is to rest with the people and let the society recover. In the second half of the handover, Hong Kong is completely different in politics, economy, society and international relations. The old formula for success is no longer working, we need a new social contract.”
“The so-called new social contract needs to deal with a series of urgent issues that need to be solved, such as the gap between the rich and the poor, the relationship between the government and the people, economic and social stagnation, identity conflicts, land-port relations, etc. These problems cannot be solved by relying solely on the market or individual efforts. To solve the problem, the government should lead and intervene to make social distribution more equitable. What the government should strive to create is a society that is more stable, more inclusive, and can interact positively.”
Different from the vigorousness that the official claims, Yang Jianxing believes that Hong Kong is still in a state of depression. If the Li Jiachao government can make one or two real economic and people’s livelihood developments in the next year, it may improve the feeling of society, “but such an atmosphere is not very visible at present.”
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