Hongkongers have more freedom and are richer under Chinese rule than they were when city was British colony, says top Beijing official
- Director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong Luo Huining says Britain plundered city to ‘astronomical’ degree
- Official cites HK$22.1 billion in military expenses city paid between 1950 and 1997, and says before China came there was no democracy
Hongkongers have more democracy and are better off financially under Chinese rule than they were when the city was a British colony, a top Beijing official said on Wednesday.
Luo Huining, director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, said mainland China had been more supportive of Hong Kong’s economic development than the colonial government since the 1997 handover.
He said since the handover, Hong Kong had grown together with mainland China, while previously Britain had benefited enormously from its colony.
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“Public data revealed that Britain’s economic plunder from Hong Kong was astronomical, amounting to HK$22.1 billion in military expenses alone for the British garrison troops between 1950-1997,” he said.
“After the handover … the central government imposed no levies on the special administrative region, nor did it request the SAR to pay for the PLA Hong Kong Garrison troops.”
