Beijing dispatched a senior Communist Party figure to Hong Kong yesterday in a bid to smooth out tensions that have been growing since China told the territory it can't quickly implement full democracy.
Critics charged that Liu Yandong's (
After presiding over the ceremonial display of one of Buddha's fingers, Liu said she was reaching out as a "friend" to all segments of Hong Kong.
"Keeping on good terms with others who hold different opinions is the essence of the Chinese nation," Liu said.
But she avoided the touchy topic of democratic reforms by holding firmly to Beijing's line that talks with Hong Kong people should be related to "achieving the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong."
Beijing angered many residents of the territory last month by ruling out direct elections for Hong Kong's next leader in 2007 and all lawmakers in 2008, claiming that universal suffrage could bring social and economic instability.
Pro-democratic politicians were skeptical of Liu's motives.
"She is not trying to befriend anyone," said legislator Andrew Cheng (
Liu appeared with Hong Kong's unpopular leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
The holy relic is revered by many of Hong Kong's Buddhists, who were celebrating Buddha's birthday yesterday, but critics called Beijing's decision to bring it here for 10 days a blatantly political gesture.
Liu was set later to meet with various representatives of the Hong Kong community, which has been simmering with political anger since China's top legislative panel ruled out full democracy in the near term for Hong Kong.
Liu heads the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which seeks to build ties between her party and various elements of Chinese society.
Her visit was seen by many observers as a move to lessen public discontent as Hong Kong prepares for elections in September that will let ordinary voters choose 30 of the 60 Legislative Council seats.
The rest are chosen by special interest groups such as business leaders.
Although Liu was making conciliatory gestures, such as a dinner planned for last night that was to include the head of Hong Kong's Roman Catholic Church as well as Muslim, Protestant and Buddhist leaders, critics cautioned it would take more to win the hearts of Hong Kong's people.
"What Liu could create may be a better atmosphere for discussion, but that won't change the public's attitude toward Beijing if it still refuses to consider their views and make real changes," said political scientist Chan Kin-man (
In the sweltering streets of Jakarta, buskers carry towering, hollow puppets and pass around a bucket for donations. Now, they fear becoming outlaws. City authorities said they would crack down on use of the sacred ondel-ondel puppets, which can stand as tall as a truck, and they are drafting legislation to remove what they view as a street nuisance. Performances featuring the puppets — originally used by Jakarta’s Betawi people to ward off evil spirits — would be allowed only at set events. The ban could leave many ondel-ondel buskers in Jakarta jobless. “I am confused and anxious. I fear getting raided or even
POLITICAL PATRIARCHS: Recent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia are driven by an escalating feud between rival political families, analysts say The dispute over Thailand and Cambodia’s contested border, which dates back more than a century to disagreements over colonial-era maps, has broken into conflict before. However, the most recent clashes, which erupted on Thursday, have been fueled by another factor: a bitter feud between two powerful political patriarchs. Cambodian Senate President and former prime minister Hun Sen, 72, and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 76, were once such close friends that they reportedly called one another brothers. Hun Sen has, over the years, supported Thaksin’s family during their long-running power struggle with Thailand’s military. Thaksin and his sister Yingluck stayed
Kemal Ozdemir looked up at the bare peaks of Mount Cilo in Turkey’s Kurdish majority southeast. “There were glaciers 10 years ago,” he recalled under a cloudless sky. A mountain guide for 15 years, Ozdemir then turned toward the torrent carrying dozens of blocks of ice below a slope covered with grass and rocks — a sign of glacier loss being exacerbated by global warming. “You can see that there are quite a few pieces of glacier in the water right now ... the reason why the waterfalls flow lushly actually shows us how fast the ice is melting,” he said.
RESTRUCTURE: Myanmar’s military has ended emergency rule and announced plans for elections in December, but critics said the move aims to entrench junta control Myanmar’s military government announced on Thursday that it was ending the state of emergency declared after it seized power in 2021 and would restructure administrative bodies to prepare for the new election at the end of the year. However, the polls planned for an unspecified date in December face serious obstacles, including a civil war raging over most of the country and pledges by opponents of the military rule to derail the election because they believe it can be neither free nor fair. Under the restructuring, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is giving up two posts, but would stay at the
RSS