Hong Kong elections: Beijing sends top official to discuss postponement of Legislative Council vote
- Zhang Xiaoming arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday and has already met members of Basic Law Committee, Post has learned
- Deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office is gathering views on legal ramifications of decision
Sources said Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, met five members of the Basic Law Committee in Hong Kong on Sunday to get their views on the legal issues arising from the postponement.
Zhang’s meetings in Hong Kong came as two pro-Beijing heavyweights, Jasper Tsang Yok-sing and Tam Yiu-chung, disagreed over whether four opposition lawmakers, who have been barred from seeking re-election, should continue to serve in Legco in the coming year.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, told the Post he was invited to meet another “senior and influential central government official” handling Hong Kong affairs on Sunday.
“As far as I know, the central government has kicked off consultation with various sectors on the postponement of the elections and related legal issues,” Lau said.
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Hong Kong Legislative Council elections postponed by a year
