Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
Wen's remark came one day after President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) was quoted in state media as saying the "one country, two systems" formula for Hong Kong, coined by late patriarch Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), should be reviewed.
"Both [Hu and Wen] have said that [we need] to study once more what Deng Xiaoping said 20 years ago about `one country, two systems,' how it should work," Tung told a briefing yesterday.
"It is very, very helpful to realize the thought process behind what `one country, two systems' is all about, and therefore it will be very helpful for the constitutional development in Hong Kong in the future," he said.
Hu made the reference to the "one country, two systems" formula while meeting Tung on Saturday on the sidelines of the annual full meeting of the 3,000-member National People's Congress (NPC), China's parliament.
"It is necessary to review Deng Xiaoping's theory on `one country, two systems,' which is still playing a significant role in guiding practice," Hu was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as telling Tung.
According to the "one country, two systems" principle, the people of Hong Kong are to be allowed a great deal of autonomy while leaving only foreign policy and defense to the government in Beijing.
The principle has been at the heart of heated arguments in Hong Kong, with many people in the city worried that China wants to impose a greater degree of control.
Xinhua suggested Hu welcomed more debate on what exactly "one country, two systems" should mean for Hong Kong, reporting that he spoke "highly" of the "positive discussion on the principle."
"Both [Hu and Wen] welcome a calm and reasonable discussion of this particular subject," Tung said at the briefing.
Xinhua did not make clear in its report what Hu meant by "reviewing" the "one country, two systems" formula, which was originally phrased in order to find a system that could lure Taiwan to reattach itself to China.
Hu also said the Chinese government would continue to support the Hong Kong government's work in line with the Basic Law, its mini-constitution, and help Hong Kong in its economic recovery.
Even as Hu struck a conciliatory note in his talks with Tung, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong," Li told a press conference arranged on the second day of the NPC meeting.
Hong Kong's democrats and mainland China are embroiled in a row over political reform.
Democrats want universal suffrage in the former British colony by 2007, but Beijing is hoping to delay any decision on reform.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS