The leader of a think has said that the Communist Party of China ”owns intellectual property” of Hong Kong democracy.
Taking aim at “Western smears” at Hong Kong’s recent Legislative Council election, Wang Zhenmin, director of Tsinghua University’s Centre for Hong Kong and Macau Studies said, “The election after the overhaul focused more on livelihood issues, the issues that local people are most concerned about – but not [the] political chaos among politicians.”
“Hong Kong society has gone through a big turmoil and upheaval throughout a long period of time, but it ended up in political upheavals and delays in economic development and improvement of livelihood,” said Wang.
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“Hong Kong society needs time to recuperate and resources should be used to develop the economy and improve people’s livelihoods. A strong economic and societal basis is needed for Hong Kong’s democratic development,” Wang added.
He is the former legal affairs chief of Beijing’s liaison office in the city and vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies.
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It comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping said last week the situation in Hong Kong had improved in the past year from “chaos,” and hailed recent legislative elections in the city as a manifestation of the people’s democratic rights.
The legislative council election, in which only candidates vetted by the government as “patriots” could run, has been criticised as undemocratic by some foreign governments, rights groups, and mainstream Hong Kong pro-democracy parties, which did not participate in the polls.
The Asian financial hub was rocked by anti-Beijing and pro-democracy protests for several years before Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on it in 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)
