Beijing is becoming increasingly concerned about growing political resistance in Hong Kong and Macau, two of its special administrative regions, the head of a semi-official Chinese think tank said on Sunday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) address at the 15th anniversary celebrations of Macau’s handover from Portugal to China was a warning to the people of Hong Kong, Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies chairman Liu Zhaojia (劉兆佳) said.
Beijing is worried that Hong Kong could become a base for subversion, Liu said, citing Xi’s comments at the anniversary event.
“We must adhere to the ‘one China’ principle and also respect the difference between the two systems,” Xi said in his address.
“At no time should we focus only on one side and neglect the other,” he said. “This is the only way toward sound and steady progress.”
“Otherwise, a misguided approach from the beginning, just like putting the left foot into the right shoe, would take us nowhere,” Xi said.
Liu said Xi’s remarks reflected Beijing’s ire over Hong Kong’s bid to preserve the liberties that were allowed in the territory under a different system of government, and its “misguided disregard” for the “one China” policy.
Beijing is hoping that Hong Kong does not try to use its unique advantages to influence China’s socialist ideology, Liu said.
He said Beijing is likely to collaborate with conservative groups in Hong Kong and Macau to wield tighter control over the territories.
In light of its colonial history and desire for civil rights and freedom, Hong Kong is more averse to communism than Macau, Liu said.
As a result, the process of integration with the mainland will be more difficult in Hong Kong’s case, he said.
The desire for alternative systems of government must be decoupled from the adherence to the “one China” policy, he said.
Liu is a former member of a committee that represents Hong Kong in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS