The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday congratulated Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) on his election as Hong Kong chief executive and said it expected the new leader to promote bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In a press release, the council highlighted what it said was significant development of bilateral relations since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in 2008, citing the name change of the nation’s representative office in Hong Kong last year as a major step in Taiwan-Hong Kong relations.
“Relations between Taiwan and Hong Kong have enjoyed positive and practical developments since President Ma took office. We expect the executive of Hong Kong to continue to promote positive interaction between the two sides and deepen relations,” it said.
The representative office, previously known as Chung Hwa Travel Service, became the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Hong Kong, in July last year.
Asked for comment, the Presidential Office said the council’s response represented the government’s official response.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was more reserved about Leung’s selection.
“It’s too early to tell Beijing’s true intentions to implement democracy [in Hong Kong] because the election for chief executive in Hong Kong will not be a direct election until 2017,” DPP spokesperson Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said, referring to a vow by Beijing to allow universal suffrage in the territory that year.
Only a handful of people — designated by the Chinese central government — were allowed to vote in the election this year, Lo said.
The real and more meaningful barometer for democracy in Hong Kong would be for China to clearly lay out its plan for the direct election in 2017, Lo said.
The DPP denounces the “birdcage democracy” practiced in Hong Kong and supports the efforts of Hong Kongers and pro-democracy advocates working for a full democracy, he added.
The incoming chief executive made news in Taiwan in 2009 when then-Chinese Nationalist Party legislator Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) — who will be inaugurated as vice president on May 20 — met with Leung during a visit to Hong Kong on Sept. 5, 2009, two days before the Ma administration announced his appointment as premier. The DPP at the time alleged that Wu was in the territory to discuss his appointment with officials there, claims the Ma administration dismissed as “ridiculous.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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