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Gary Cheung

The sovereignty and security of the nation take precedence over maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity, a former top mainland official in charge of the city's affairs said.
Chen Zuoer, a former deputy director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also said Hongkongers had failed to shake off their "mentality as colonial subjects" 17 years after the handover.
Hongkongers had not yet come to terms with the fact that they are part of "one country", Chen added as he laid out the central government's priorities in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.

	What the Occupy Central referendum asks voters
He echoed the conclusions of Beijing's controversial white paper on Hong Kong affairs, insisting "one country" and "two systems" did not have equal weight.
Chen pointed to the report delivered to the Communist Party's 18th national congress in 2012, which stated that the underlying goal of Beijing's policies towards Hong Kong and Macau was to "uphold China's sovereignty, security and development interests". The report also mentioned ensuring the long-term stability and prosperity of the special administrative regions but, Chen said, not with equal importance.
"Upholding the country's sovereignty and security is not on an equal footing with maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity. My understanding is that upholding national sovereignty and security comes before maintaining the prosperity of the special administrative region," he said.

Chen was in town to address a seminar hosted by the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, the recently established think tank of which he is chairman.
At the seminar on Friday, he defended the white paper, which had come under fire from pan-democrats for its insistence that the central government had "comprehensive jurisdiction" over Hong Kong.
Chen said some Hongkongers had not been fully prepared for the handover, and were "confused and lopsided" in their understanding of the "one country, two systems" principle.
Chen, who has been involved in Hong Kong affairs for more than 25 years, said some Hongkongers did not identify with the nation. "Resumption of territorial sovereignty was done in a second when the clock struck midnight on July 1, 1997. But can reunification of Hongkongers' hearts with the motherland be completed in the blink of an eye? It takes a long time," Chen said.
"The significant turn in Hong Kong's history involves adaptation in people's value system and outlook on life. I think the decolonisation process - Hongkongers shaking off their mentality as colonial subjects - has not yet been completed."
The Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies was formed in December, two days after Hong Kong's government began a public consultation on electoral reform that is likely to pave the way for the election of the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2017. The association said the timing was a coincidence.
Chen's visit came as hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers voted in Occupy Central's unofficial referendum on the 2017 poll, an exercise the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said was illegal.
But Chen, who two years ago proclaimed himself "heartbroken" at seeing Hong Kong protesters waving the British colonial flag, said Beijing was not tightening its grip because of sporadic examples of pro-independence fervour or colonial nostalgia.
"If that's what protesters think," he said, "they certainly underestimate the central government's generosity of mind and are nothing more than self-promoters."



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Beijing White Paper 2014

China's sovereignty takes precedence over Hong Kong, ex-official Chen Zuoer says

Members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) protest outside the venue of the meeting of association of Hong Kong and Macau studies wanting to debate with Chen Zuoer. Photo: SCMP 

Members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) protest outside the venue of the meeting of association of Hong Kong and Macau studies wanting to debate with Chen Zuoer. Photo: May Tse

Chen Zuoer says the sovereignty and security of the nation take precedence over maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity. Photo: May Tse

Chen Zuoer says the sovereignty and security of the nation take precedence over maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity.

Chen Zuoer, former chief Chinese negotiator on Hong Kong's reunion, pictured (right) June 2014. Photo: SCMP

700,000 votes cast in Occupy Central poll, but ballot 'still not credible'

Hundreds of people queue up to cast their votes in the Occupy Central "referendum" at Caritas Institute of Community Education in Sha Tin yesterday. Photo: Edward Wong

Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-ming at the PolyU polling station. Photo: SCMP

People cast vote in a polling station at The University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam. Photo: Sam Tsang

People cast vote in a polling station at Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union in Causeway Bay. Photo: Dickson Lee

Cardinal Joseph Zen and Martin Lee show their ID cards as they cast their votes for the civil referendum at Salesian Missionary House in Shau Kei Wan. Photo: SCMP

Founding chairman of the Democratic Party, Martin Lee, pops his voting slip in the ballot box at Salesian Missionary House in Shau Kei Wan. Photo: SCMP

(From left) Founders of Occupy Central movement Chan Kin-man, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chu Yiu-ming and Robert Chung Ting-yiu, Director of Public Opinion Programme (POP) open the first ballot box at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shatin. Photo: Dickson Lee

Dozens of voters line up outside a TST polling booth. Photo: SCMP

What the Occupy Central referendum asks voters

Occupy Central co-organiser Chan Kin-man poses with a tablet showing the number of votes twenty-six hours after their unofficial referendum in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

A Pro democracy activist distributes leaflets outside a polling station. Photo: AFP

News

Hong Kong

The sovereignty and security of the nation take precedence over maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity, a former top mainland official in charge of the city's affairs said.


Occupy Central

Exclusive | China's sovereignty takes precedence over Hong Kong, ex-official Chen Zuoer says

The sovereignty and security of the nation take precedence over maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity, a former top mainland official in charge of the city's affairs said.

What the Occupy Central referendum asks voters