Beijing official shrugs off declined invites for mainland visit by envoys in Hong Kong
Cui Jianchun, Beijing’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, says he will press on with explaining ‘one country, two systems’ to foreign envoys
Beijing’s top diplomat in Hong Kong will press on with explaining the implementation of the “one country, two systems” governing principle to foreign envoys after some declined invites to visit a mainland Chinese province.
But Cui Jianchun, the head of the foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong, said on Sunday consuls general should try to learn more about the country so they could better carry out their jobs in the city.
“If you serve as the consul general in Hong Kong but you do not understand the economy, politics and culture of the mainland, it will be difficult for you to do your job well in Hong Kong,” he said.
Cui made the call as he concluded a week-long trip in which he led a delegation of more than 60 representatives from the consular and business communities in Hong Kong to the eastern mainland province of Shandong.
“[Promoting mutual understanding] is what we have been doing ... I hope next year there will be more consuls general joining us, including some developed countries or European countries,” Cui said.
He declined to speculate whether political considerations might have been behind the decisions of some foreign envoys to not join the trip.
Cui said they might have had other engagements.
