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Hong Kong politics
Hong KongPolitics

Why did Beijing appoint trusted Xi Jinping ally to office overseeing Hong Kong affairs? Insiders put positive spin but admit it’s for tighter oversight after protests

  • Some Beijing loyalists see it as a chance to reset relations between the local and central governments, after turmoil caused by months-long social unrest
  • Redesignation of Zhang Xiaoming seen as Beijing holding him accountable for crisis triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill

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Xia Baolong has been appointed director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. Photo: Weibo
Gary Cheung,Kimmy ChungandAlvin Lum
Beijing officials stationed in Hong Kong have sought to put a positive spin to the sudden shake-up of the central government’s cabinet-level office that oversees the city’s affairs.
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The central government was “upgrading” the office by appointing a state leader and thus devoting more attention to Hong Kong, the liaison office said in briefing notes distributed to pro-Beijing politicians, a copy of which was obtained by the Post.

In the unexpected announcement on Thursday, Beijing appointed Xia Baolong, a vice-chairman and secretary general of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top advisory body, as director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. It demoted incumbent Zhang Xiaoming to executive deputy director, a post that had been vacant since 2008.

Xia is widely regarded as a trusted ally of President Xi, having worked together for more than four years in Zhejiang province in the mid-2000s when Xi was the Communist Party chief there. Xia was his deputy then.

Going beyond the prepared notes they were given, several Beijing loyalists told the Post the appointment of Xia would mean closer supervision of the city’s affairs.

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Yet, others saw it as a chance to reset relations between the local and central governments, after the discombobulation caused by the social unrest in the city over the past eight months.

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