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HKFP
02-06-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
New director of Beijing's top organ in Hong Kong visits neighbourhoods on third day of office
Zhou Ji, the new director of Beijing's top organ in Hong Kong, visited Sham Shui Po and Tsing Yi on his third day in office, saying his new appointment reflected the 'deep trust' placed in him by China's president Xi Jinping. Zhou said in a statement released by the central government's liaison office on Sunday that he hoped to understand Hong Kong's 'community work' and 'people's livelihoods' through his first district visit. The top official went to a women's services centre run by a pro-Beijing group in Sham Shui Po's Fu Cheong Estate. He also visited a community hall in Cheung Hang Estate in Tsing Yi. Zhou, 61, succeeded Zheng Yanxiong as head of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong, according to a brief statement on Friday. Zhou was formerly the executive deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. His predecessor, Zheng, had headed the liaison office since January 2023, three years after becoming the director of the central government's Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. Born in China's Hubei province, Zhou graduated from Huazhong University with a master's degree in electronic and communication engineering, according to Chinese media outlets. Zhou rose through local government ranks first in Hubei province and later in Henan province. He said in the Sunday statement that he had seen Hong Kong's transition 'from governance to prosperity' while working as the executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau affairs office, adding that the city had 'enhanced district governance.' 'It is a privilege to work at the liaison office, which reflects the deep trust placed in me by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Central Committee of the Party,' Zhou said in the Chinese statement. 'I fully understand the weight of my responsibilities and will ensure the comprehensive, accurate, and unwavering implementation of the 'One Country, Two Systems' policy and the principle of 'patriots governing Hong Kong,'' he said. Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only 'patriots' were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019. The number of seats chosen democratically by the public were slashed from 452 to 88 – reducing the power of public votes to a fifth. The rest are to be chosen by the city's leader and government-appointed committees. Constituency boundaries were redrawn, the opposition were shut out, voting hours were slashed by an hour, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism. Meeting with John Lee Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee met with Zhou 'in a cordial and productive atmosphere' on Saturday, welcoming Zhou on his new appointment and expressing gratitude for Beijing's care and support for Hong Kong, according to a government statement. 'Director Zhou Yi has extensive experience in local governance and a broad perspective on policy-making,' the Chinese statement read, adding that Zhou was 'well acquainted' with China's policies on Hong Kong. According to the statement, Zhou led a delegation to visit Hong Kong last year and 'gain better insights into its economic development.'
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Taiwan denounces Russia, China for distorting World War II history
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina TAIPEI - Taiwan's government on May 9 criticised Russia and China for distorting World War II history, saying Chinese communist forces made 'no substantial contribution' to fighting Japan and instead took the opportunity to expand their own forces. Taiwan has since the start of 2025 sought to cast the war as a lesson to China in why aggression will end in failure, remind the world it was not the government in Beijing that won the war. The Chinese government at the time was the Republic of China, part of the US, British and Russian-led alliance, and its forces did much of the fighting against Japan, putting on pause a bitter civil war with Mao Zedong's Communists whose military also fought the Japanese. The republican government then fled to Taiwan in 1949 after finally being defeated by Mao, and Republic of China remains the democratic island's official name. Responding to comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the war was won under the leadership of China's communist party, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said it was the Republic of China government and people who fought and ultimately won. 'The Chinese communists only took the opportunity to expand and consolidate communist forces, and made no substantial contribution to the war of resistance, let alone 'leading' the war of resistance,' it said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr Xi is in Moscow to attend the May 9 military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
NDTV
22-04-2025
- Business
- NDTV
China's Top Official Mocks Trump Tariffs, Counters JD Vances "Peasant" Slur
Beijing: Amid spiralling trade war between the world's two biggest economies, US Vice President JD Vance's "Chinese peasants" remark has once again come back to bite him, with a top Chinese official using the same word to describe Americans. China's foreign ministry had condemned Vance's comments made during a Fox News interview, when he said, "We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture." Referring to Vance's uncouth remarks, one of China's top officials last week said US President Donald Trump's "extremely shameless" tariff war would backfire soon, leaving "those peasants in the US" wailing. Xia Baolong, who is the director of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, last Tuesday said bullying had never worked on Chinese people, including those from Hong Kong. Xia said that "let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation". "The Chinese people do not cause trouble, nor are they afraid of trouble. Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China," he added, according to news agency Reuters. The comments came amid escalating tension between Beijing and Washington. China has hiked its levies on imports of US goods to 125 per cent, hitting back at US President Donald Trump's decision to single out the world's No.2 economy for effectively raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 per cent. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is subject to US tariffs imposed on Beijing as it is no longer considered a separate trading entity by Washington amid a years-long crackdown under a sweeping national security law. However, unlike the mainland, Hong Kong, as an international free trade hub, is not planning to impose any retaliatory tariffs on the US right now, its leader, John Lee, said last week. The Trump administration has used the sword of levies to engage several countries in negotiations with the United States to lower tariffs. But Beijing has dismissed the US president's tariff strategy as a "joke." The US President, however, has insisted that the United States was in talks with China on tariffs, adding that he was confident the world's largest economies could make a deal to end the bitter trade war. "Yeah, we're talking to China...I would say they have reached out a number of times...I think we're going to make a very good deal with China," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. China, meanwhile, has vowed to fight a trade war "to the end" and has not confirmed that it is in talks with Washington, though it has called for dialogue. It has slammed what it calls "unilateralism and protectionism" by the United States -- and warned about an international order reverting to the "law of the jungle". "Where the strong prey on the weak, all countries will become victims," Beijing said Monday.
South China Morning Post
21-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong may feel pain from the trade war but not for too long
Many people were taken aback by the ferocity of Xia Baolong's speech on Hong Kong National Security Education Day. Beneath the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office's calm and resolute delivery, there was anger and frustration. The message is clear: this is war – not war in the literal sense but war nevertheless. Advertisement Does his speech signal the start of a chain reaction that will lead to total decoupling between the United States and China? If so, could Hong Kong be affected? While Hong Kong government officials are rumoured to have insisted this will not happen, few are comforted by such assurances. The question on the minds of many is: can Hong Kong survive without US trade? Let's take a look at the numbers. The US is Hong Kong's third largest trading partner, according to data from the city's Census and Statistics Department. In 2024, Hong Kong's total exports to the US were worth HK$295.5 billion and imports from the country were worth HK$206 billion. Hong Kong total exports to and imports from the world were worth about HK$4.5 trillion and HK$4.9 trillion respectively. In other words, Hong Kong's export and import figures to the US were 6.5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively of total global exports and imports. These figures include the transshipment of goods going to and coming from the mainland. Transshipment might not contribute much to Hong Kong in real money terms, but we must bear in mind that the sector boosts Hong Kong's status as a logistics hub, especially in the context of trade with the mainland. Any weakening of this position may translate into weakening the importance of the logistics sector in the eyes of Hong Kong's other trading partners. This cannot be measured in real money terms. Another point to note is that Hong Kong is a free port and will continue to be one despite the imposition of unprecedentedly high US tariffs . This is dictated by Basic Law and is unlikely to be changed regardless of local sentiment in favour of retaliation.
South China Morning Post
16-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Can Hong Kong look beyond its ‘shopping paradise' era and attract tourists again?
Hong Kong can no longer count on its status as a 'shopping paradise' to lure in tourists due to a significant downturn in recent years, while soaring living costs pose hurdles to investment and development in the sector, according to experts at an industry summit. Advertisement Speakers at the 2025 World Tourism Cities Federation Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit on Wednesday also said that Hong Kong needed to diversify its offerings and enhance hospitality to revitalise the sector. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, who gave the opening speech for the second day of the event, said tourism was a 'fast-moving and ever-changing landscape'. 'I encourage stakeholders to break out of the boundaries from previous endeavours; even the old patterns of success,' she said. Law pledged earlier this month to press on with rolling out new initiatives focused on local resources such as islands and coasts, after meeting with Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, whom she said was deeply concerned about how the city could enhance its offerings for visitors. Advertisement Industry veterans said an important step was shifting away from an overreliance on retail offerings.
