Leung Chun-ying stands firm on 'one country, two systems'
Leung tries to calm pan-democrats after remark on Beijing's influence by think-tank chief
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is seeking to cool controversy over his think-tank chief's remark that Hong Kong should accept Beijing's involvement in the city's affairs.
Leung yesterday insisted that the government alone was responsible for lobbying lawmakers on policy issues and underlined the Special Administrative Region's high degree of autonomy under the Basic Law.
He was speaking amid an outcry from pan-democrats after the Central Policy Unit head Shiu Sin-por said on Monday that the central government liaison office's influence on lawmakers was "a reality".
Constitutional and Mainland Affairs chief Raymond Tam Chi-yuen also weighed in, saying that Shiu's remarks - on which he did not comment directly - "usually had a strong personal flavour".
The liaison office came under fire after lawmakers revealed they had received calls from its officials about their stance in a vote on whether the Legislative Council should probe the government's decision on free-to-air television licensing.
Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing yesterday urged Shiu to apologise for his "ridiculous" comments. "The liaison office is definitely intervening in the city's internal affairs and has destroyed the one country, two systems [principle] and Hong Kong's high autonomy."
