Beijing’s signal to Hong Kong: learn from Macau, and it starts with having ‘patriots’ in charge
- Top official praises Macau for implementing ‘one country, two systems’ principle
- Hong Kong must have right leaders and introduce national security law, analysts say
Beijing expects Hong Kong to do more to emulate Macau even as it accepts that not every lesson from the former Portuguese colony can work in the city, analysts said on Tuesday.
They were commenting on remarks by National People’s Congress chairman Li Zhanshu who earlier in the day had described Macau as a role model for implementing the “one country, two systems” principle that also applies in Hong Kong.
Analysts said the signal from Beijing was that while the central government appreciated the differences between the two cities given their separate colonial pasts, it expected both to put that guiding principle into practice.
The lessons for Hong Kong from Macau, they said, included ensuring the right people were in charge and implementing a national security law which Beijing considers critical.
Speaking at an event in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the 20th anniversary of Macau’s Basic Law, Li urged Hong Kong to be more like Macau, and stressed that the two special administrative regions’ legal and constitutional systems could not be treated outside China’s national constitution.
He heaped praise on Macau for having the social foundation for implementing the Basic Law, and having “patriots” in key government posts.