Hong Kong plays key role in promoting Taiwan’s reunification, top Beijing official says

Hong Kong should make full use of the city’s unique advantage as a connector to the rest of the world and promote reunification across the Taiwan Strait through communication and goodwill, a visiting top Beijing official tasked with building a “united front” has said.

Shi Taifeng, director of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, also told the Overseas Chinese World Conference for Promoting Peaceful Reunification of China on Tuesday that the “continuous development” of implementing the “one country, two systems” governing principle in Hong Kong would play a key role in realising the country’s reunification.

“The continuous development of implementing one country, two systems in Hong Kong will provide an important reference and play an important role in realising the complete reunification of the motherland,” he told the conference, which was being held in the city for the second time since the first one in Berlin, Germany, in 2000.

Shi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, stressed the city had entered a new stage after two national security laws were enacted following the anti-government protests in 2019.

Wang Huning, the country’s top political adviser and No 4 official, also sent a congratulatory note to the conference applauding the “enthusiastic” efforts of Chinese in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas in pushing back against advocates for the self-ruled island’s independence.