Author: Dai Qingcheng
after the outbreak in Hong Kong in June last year cases of revisionism movement of more than ten months, the Government has finally carried out the first major reshuffle yesterday, five one-off exchange bureau "in charge." Multi-analysis pointed out that the background and position adjustments of the new directors indicate that the central government will become tougher on Hong Kong's line in the future.
The Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency issued a message yesterday morning that the State Council appointed Director of Immigration Zeng Guowei to replace Nie Dequan as Director of Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, based on the nomination and recommendation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, and Nie Dequan was transferred to the post of Director of the Civil Service; He succeeded Liu Jianghua as the Secretary of Civil Affairs and Affairs; Xu Zhengyu, the Chief Executive of the Financial Development Bureau, succeeded Liu Yixiang as the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury; and the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Xue Yongheng, succeeded Yang Weixiong as the Secretary for Innovation and Technology. The list of
is exactly the same as the personnel news first reported by the Hong Kong media the day before yesterday.
Zeng Guoweicheng is the first non-administrative person in charge of the Constitutional Affairs Bureau
Among them, the former Director of Immigration in charge of the disciplinary forces, Zeng Guowei, was transferred to the Director of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, becoming the first non-administrative officer to be in charge of the Constitutional Affairs Bureau. A lot of attention. Many commentators believe that the personnel report this time was that the "military attache" forced the "civilian" to retreat, reflecting the central government's intention to use police officials to demonstrate the "full governance" of Hong Kong.
The former Hong Kong Immigration Director Zeng Guowei, who was in charge of the disciplinary forces, was transferred to the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs. (China News Service)
Carrie Lam responded to this at a press conference yesterday, saying that there is always a first time in everything, as long as the right person is found, the original practice should not be an obstacle.
She emphasized that the selection of the Hong Kong government has always been based on meritocracy. When selecting principal officials, the focus is not on technical knowledge, but on their vision, commitment, commitment to work, and enthusiasm. She believes that she had led 5,000 to 6,000 employees in the immigration department. Zeng Guowei can meet these requirements.
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, led five new directors to meet with the media yesterday. (Reuters)
Hong Kong political circles have different views on this round of high-level personnel adjustments of the SAR government. Li Huiqiong, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of the Democratic Alliance, said that the Hong Kong government was in a period of “political heat” in the past. Facing the three major challenges of the epidemic, violent impact and deep-seated social contradictions, citizens are dissatisfied with the performance of different officials. I believe Carrie Lam is considering In the future, policy guidelines and policy work will change, so personnel transfers will bring a new vision in the future.
But the Democratic Party legislator Tu Jinshen questioned that if the Hong Kong government wants to reorganize its governance team, the first to be replaced are Carrie Lam, Secretary of Justice Cheng Ruohua and Secretary of Security Li Jiachao. He asked back, how can we win the hearts of the people without replacing these three?
Scholar: Strengthening the political combat power of the SAR government
Tu Jinshen also criticized that officials with the lowest popularity and influence on the overall situation of Hong Kong have not been removed. His only interpretation of this is that the central government should strengthen its leadership over Hong Kong and appoint more loyal people.
Hong Kong political circles have mixed views on this round of high-level personnel adjustments. The picture shows the streets of Admiralty District where the Hong Kong Government Headquarters and Legislative Council Building are located. (Bloomberg)
Liu Zhaojia, vice president of the China National Hong Kong and Macau Research Association, analyzed that this personnel adjustment is to strengthen the political fighting power of the SAR government in order to co-operate with the central government in the future to deal with opposition forces inside and outside. He believes that with the support of the central government, the SAR government will strengthen the discipline of the civil service team and its loyalty to the country and the SAR government in the future; it will also strengthen the qualification review of candidates in the next three important elections.
As for the accountable officials criticized in the anti-amendment case, Liu Zhaojia believes that this is because the central government does not want to give the outside world the impression that the amendment is wrong and weak to the opposition. Whether it is "strengthening combat effectiveness" or strengthening the leadership of the central government, people from all walks of life in Hong Kong generally believe that the central government will continue to strengthen its influence over Hong Kong. Qiu Ziqin, a lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, explained that the change of the SAR government's team shows that the central government will become tougher towards Hong Kong in the future. In a radio program, Qiu Ziqin took Xu Zhengyu, who is also a member of the DAB, as the Secretary for Financial Affairs and the Treasury as an example. The central government does not mind that the director in charge of the financial system is politically charged, reflecting the central government’s intention to make the Hong Kong government team better. Politicization is a further manifestation of Beijing's tough line towards Hong Kong.
