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The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (; abbr. LOCPG or 香港中聯辦) is the agency that represents the Chinese
Central People's Government The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...
in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
. It replaced the New China News Agency (NCNA) as the representative of the Chinese government in Hong Kong in 2000.


Roles

The Liaison Office was established in 2000 as the replacement of the New China News Agency (NCNA), the unofficial representative of the PRC government in Hong Kong during the colonial period since 1949. It followed the NCNA to promote the pro-Beijing
united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
and coordinate pro-Beijing candidates, mobilising supporters to vote for "patriotic" political parties and clandestinely orchestrating electoral campaigns. It also controls pro-Beijing media companies in Hong Kong. It is also responsible for running the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
cells in Hong Kong. The Liaison Office is headquartered in Sai Ying Pun, and holds numerous other properties around Hong Kong. The Liaison Office has officially been playing a communication bridge between Beijing and Hong Kong. According to the Liaison Office's website, the office's official functions are the following: # Integrate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Delegation Office in Hong Kong and the
People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison The People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison is a garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), responsible for defence duties in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) since the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to ...
(PLA). # Integrate and help the mainland relevant departments to manage Chinese investment organisations. # Promote economic, educational, science and technology, cultural, and athletic exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland. Integrate with Hong Kong people from all levels of society, and advance the exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong. Report on the Hong Kong residents' views toward the mainland. # Handle relevant issues that touch upon Taiwan. # Undertake other matters at the direction of the central government.


History


Origins

The office was established in May 1947 under the name "Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong branch" and was the ''de facto'' mission to Hong Kong when the city was under
British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. The Liaison Office was established in 2000 to take on the liaison functions of Xinhua. It followed the Xinhua to promote the pro-Beijing
united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
and coordinate with the pro-Beijing camp, mobilising supporters to vote for "patriotic" political parties and clandestinely orchestrating electoral campaigns.


2000–2003: Supporting Tung administration and 2003 July 1 protest

In late 2001, the Liaison Office coordinated and mobilised support among pro-Beijing elites for
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chi ...
to run for another term of office.
Jiang Enzhu Jiang Enzhu (; born 14 December 1938) is a Chinese retired diplomat and politician. Jiang was a member of the 15th CPC Central Committee, he served as Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, as president of the Xinhua News Agency, as director o ...
, director of the Liaison Office and Gao Siren openly supported Tung. A Hong Kong representative of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
(CPPCC) expressed he felt pressured to join the campaign otherwise his non-cooperation would be reported to the Liaison Office. The Liaison Office was criticised for meddling in the election of the Hong Kong deputies to the
10th National People's Congress The 10th National People's Congress () was in session from 2003 to 2008. It held five plenary sessions in this period. There were 2,984 deputies to this Congress. It succeeded the 9th National People's Congress. The 1st Session The Congre ...
(NPC). It was accused of issuing a recommendation list to the electors before the election.
James Tien James Tien is the name of: *James Tien (actor) (; born 1942), Hong Kong actor from Guangdong *James Tien (politician) (; born 1947), Hong Kong politician, former Liberal Party chairman and Legislative Council member *James M. Tien, American enginee ...
of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
criticised the Liaison Office for circulating the recommendation lists, the Democratic Party's
Martin Lee Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He ...
viewed it as a "shadow government" meddling in elections in all levels, including the Chief Executive elections, coordinating with pro-Beijing parties in Legislative Council and District Council elections, and raising funds for the
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the ...
(DAB). The Liaison Office led by Gao Siren backed the
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chi ...
government to push forward the controversial legislation of the national security bill as stipulated in the
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 () is an article in the Basic Law, the constitution of Hong Kong. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People ...
. It was criticised for its failure in reporting to Beijing accurately the massive discontent toward the Tung regime and failure in predicting the unprecedented 2003 July 1 massive demonstration against the national security bill. It was said that the Liaison Office was too close to the pro-Beijing Hong Kong elites and naturally provided over-positive reports on the HKSAR to Beijing. As a result, the central government removed and replaced a number of deputy directors of the Liaison Office. A spy scandal was also revealed which involved with the leak out of the confidential information of the Liaison Office to the British agents.


After 2003: The "Second Government"

After the pro-democracy tide in 2003, the Liaison Office established two new departments, one for police affairs and another for community organisations. It adopted a hard-line policy toward the democrats. In the 2004 Legislative Council election, the Liaison Office mobilised the members of the pro-Beijing interest groups and housing associations, including the
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
community, to support and vote for the DAB and the
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...
(FTU) candidates. Beijing also strengthened the Liaison Office to influence day-to-day affairs in Hong Kong and effectively operated as a "second government" in Hong Kong, reviewing and approving all potential candidates in the elections. Cao Erbao, director of the Liaison Office's Research Department who coined the "second government" concept, wrote that Hong Kong went from being ruled by one entity to being ruled by two: the Hong Kong government and "a team of Central and Mainland authorities carrying out Hong Kong work." It sparked great controversy in some sectors of Hong Kong society, already worried about the growing interference of the People's Republic of China into Hong Kong's political affairs. Since 2010, Hong Kong protesters began targeting the Liaison Office as the destination of the demonstrations. The Liaison Office worked on nurturing better educated candidates from the middle class to compete with the pro-democrats including
Starry Lee Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974 in British Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong politician, chairperson of the largest pro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (D ...
and
Chan Hak-kan Gary Chan Hak-kan, BBS, JP (born 24 April 1976) is a current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He represents the New Territories North East constituency and is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progre ...
of the DAB in the 2008 Legislative Council election. It also opposed the pro-business Liberal Party which caused the 2008 electoral defeats of James Tien and
Selina Chow Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee (; born 25 January 1945) is a former Hong Kong television executive and politician. She was a member of the Legislative Council for nearly three decades, and was also a member of the Executive Council. She is honorar ...
which wiped out the directly elected seats of the Liberal Party and a split within the party which saw four of its seven legislators quit the party. The Liaison Office was accused of rigging in the 2011 District Council election with one elected district councillor was found to be a previous staff of the Liaison Office.


Since 2012: "Sai Wan ruling Hong Kong"

In early 2012, the Liaison Office, located in
Sai Wan Sai Wan, also known as Western district, or simply Western, is an area in Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong that corresponds to Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui, Belcher Bay and Kennedy Town. It formed part of the City of Victoria. West Point, a f ...
district, aggressively lobbied the
Election Committee The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Ho ...
members for
Leung Chun-ying Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Ma ...
to be elected in the Chief Executive election. The Liaison Office was accused of lobbying the 60 members of the Agriculture and Fisheries Subsector to nominate Leung in order to enter the race. It was reported that the Liaison Office pressured the pro-Beijing members of the Legislative Council, including Jeffrey Lam,
Andrew Leung Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (; born 24 February 1951) is a Hong Kong politician who is the current President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the Industrial (First) functional constituency. From October 2012 to October ...
,
Sophie Lau Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, OBE, GBS, JP (; born 9 October 1945, Macau) is a resident of the Hong Kong SAR, Mrs. Sophie Leung had been a Member of the Legislative Council of HKSAR from 1996 to 2012, representing the textile and garment industry ...
and
Abraham Shek Abraham Shek Lai-him GBS JP or Abraham Razack (; born Razack Ebrahim Abdul; 24 June 1945) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the real estate and construction industry in a functional constituency se ...
who nominated
Henry Tang Henry Tang Ying-yen (; born 6 September 1952) is a Hong Kong politician who served as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2011. He held the position of Financial Secretary from 2003 to 2007. In 2012, he lost the Hong Kong Chief ...
, Leung's main rival, not to support pan-democrats' motion of setting up a commission to investigate Leung Chun-ying's conflict of interest scandal in the
West Kowloon Cultural District The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is a large arts development in Hong Kong. Based on a Foster and Partners master plan and comprising , the district will eventually include 17 venues. The Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera, the Freespace c ...
project. Cao Erbao reportedly telephoning and pressing Prof Gabriel Leung, the Director of the
Office of the Chief Executive Office of the Chief Executive (CEO) is one of the government agencies for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It consists of the immediate staff to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and multiple levels of support staff reporting to t ...
to slow a conflict of interest investigation in the project that threatened to case Leung in a bad light. This allegation sparked a controversy in which the pan-democracy camp and business community condemned the Liaison Office of meddling into Hong Kong domestic affairs. The pan-democrat Election Committee members held a slogan of "No to Sai Wan ruling Hong Kong" in the polling station on the election day, in which the term was popularised in the following years. Leung Chun-ying was also criticised of undermining the "One Country, Two Systems" principle when he made a high-profile visit to the Liaison Office a day after his victory. In the 2012 Legislative Council election, various candidates including
Priscilla Leung Priscilla Leung Mei-fun (; born 18 November 1960, Hong Kong) is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. She ...
and Paul Tse were accused of being backed by the Liaison Office. The Liaison Office was also accused for orchestrating in the 2016 Legislative Council election. The term "Sai Wan Party" also became popular during the election, when several pro-Beijing candidates, including Priscilla Leung, Paul Tse,
Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
,
Junius Ho Junius Ho Kwan-yiu (; born 4 June 1962) is a Hong Kong lawyer and politician who currently serves as a member in the Hong Kong Legislative Council. a prominent pro Beijing figure in Hong Kong’s political landscape, he formerly served as pre ...
and
Eunice Yung Eunice Yung Hoi-yan (; born 7 June 1977) is a Hong Kong barrister and pro-Beijing politician. She is a member of the New People's Party (NPP) and the Civil Force (CF). She became member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for New Territories ...
were perceived backed by the Liaison Office, all of whom were elected with Liaison Office's supports. Starting from the end of August 2016, '' Sing Pao Daily News'', which is known to be pro-Beijing, has been running anonymous critiques of
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Leung Chun-ying Leung Chun-ying (; born 12 August 1954), also known as CY Leung, is a Hong Kong politician and chartered surveyor, who has served as vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference since Ma ...
and the Liaison Office. The paper accused Leung and the Liaison Office of "inciting"
Hong Kong independence Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates the establishment of Hong Kong as an independent sovereign state. Hong Kong is one of two Special administrative regions of China (SAR) which enjoys a certain degree of autonomy ...
and accused the Liaison Office of interfering in Hong Kong's domestic affairs and manipulating local Legislative Council elections by supporting groups that divide the pro-democracy camp, including the
localist Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identi ...
groups such as
Youngspiration Youngspiration is a localist political party in Hong Kong founded in 2015. It emerged after the 2014 Hong Kong protests (often dubbed as the "Umbrella Revolution") with an agenda of protection of Hong Kong people's interests and culture agains ...
which had pro-independence tendency. The paper then urged the
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest internal control institution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tasked with enforcing internal rules and regulations and combating corruption and malfeasance in the pa ...
(CCDI) of the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
to investigate Leung and Zhang Xiaoming, the Director of the Liaison Office over power abuse. On 15 January 2018, during a public opening ceremony, Wang Zhimin, director of Beijing's Liaison Office confirmed Beijing's interference, as said he and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor shared the same wish that “Sai Wan” and “Central” must “walk together”, cooperating in an even closer fashion. On 21 July 2019, protesters surrounded the Hong Kong Liaison Office and defaced the Chinese national emblem, an act that was condemned by the government. In October 2020, SCMP reported that an employee from the Liaison Office had told lawmakers to not meet with officials from the Five Eyes (Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States) or countries from Europe. In November 2020, following the expulsion of 4 pro-democracy lawmakers from the Legislative Council, the Liaison Office said "The political rule that Hong Kong must be governed by patriots shall be firmly guarded." At the end of November 2020, the Liaison Office reportedly onboarded Zheng Lin as its propaganda department's deputy minister. The Liaison Office condemned the pro-democracy camp for organizing primaries for the 2020 Legislative Council, stating that they were ignoring possible breaches of the law. Additionally, the Liaison Office singled out Benny Tai, stating that they "believe that the general public can clearly see the evil intentions of Benny Tai and others, and the harm caused to Hong Kong society." In January 2021, it was reported that at least half of the 480 employees at the headquarters (The Westpoint) were reshuffled and that many of them had no previous connections to Hong Kong. In February 2021, the Liaison Office issued orders to members of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
, where points would be given to members who write pro-government op-eds and social media posts. In March 2021, after the
NPCSC The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
passed legislation to allow only "patriots" to serve in the government, and also cut the number of directly elected members in the Legislative Council from 35 to 20, the Liaison Office claimed that the move would increase democracy in Hong Kong.


COVID-19

On 30 October 2020, a 44 year old employee of the Liaison Office was confirmed to have COVID-19, with case 5321. He arrived in Hong Kong from Shenzhen on October 6th, and was exempted from quarantine, being a government official. Residents at his apartment (10-16 Ching Wah Street in North Point, a building owned by the Liaison Office) were required to undergo virus testing. Additionally, people at his office (West Wing of Shun Tak, which he traveled to in a company vehicle) were required to undergo virus testing, and 11 coworkers were required to undergo quarantine.


Religion

In October 2021, the Liaison Office met senior Hong Kong Catholic clergymen and briefed them on
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
's views on the "Sinicization" of religion, or the adoption of "Chinese characteristics" within established religions.


2022 Chief Executive election

In April 2022, the Liaison Office met with
Election Committee The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Ho ...
members and told them that the only candidate approved by Beijing for the
2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election The 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held on 8 May 2022 for the 6th term of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Chief Executive (CE), the List of current Chinese provincial leaders, highest office of the Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Adm ...
would be John Lee.


Media subsidiaries

The Liaison Office also supervises the mainland's enterprises, including owning three pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong- ''
Ta Kung Pao ''Ta Kung Pao'' (; formerly ''L'Impartial'') is the oldest active Chinese language newspaper in China. Founded in Tianjin in 1902, the paper is state-owned, controlled by the Liaison Office of the Central Government after the Chinese Civil War ...
'' in Wan Chai, ''
Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing state-owned newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, after its Shanghai edition was launched in 1938. Its head office is in the Hing Wai Centre () in Aber ...
'' in Aberdeen, and '' Commercial Daily'' in Kowloon, through a subsidiary company called Guangdong New Culture Development. In 2015, '' Next Magazine'' revealed that the Office also took control of
Sino United Publishing Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Limited () is Hong Kong's largest integrated publishing group, formed in 1988 from the integration of some of the historic publishing agencies. Its business includes publishing, distribution, retail, printing, RF ...
, which controls over 80% of the book publishing market share. It is Hong Kong's largest Chinese publishing group, and has 51 retail bookstore outlets in the territory though branches of Commercial Press,
Joint Publishing Joint Publishing (), also known as Sanlian Press or SDX Joint Publishing, is a book store chain and publisher founded at Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong on 18 October 1948. Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) is one of major book store chains in Ho ...
, Chung Hwa Book Company, and Cosmos Books.Lam, Jeffie (8 March 2015)
"Hong Kong book giant in censorship row after returning title"
. ''South China Morning Post''.
In addition, Sino United Publishing owns nearly 30 publishing houses. In January 2021, Apple Daily reported that the Liaison Office was planning on creating and leading a state-owned cultural enterprise that would span publishing, news, film, TV, arts, and culture in Hong Kong. It is expected to be started in the beginning half of 2021, and will be managed by secretary general of the Liaison Office, Wen Hongwu.


Property ownership

The Liaison Office has purchased offices and a significant number of residential apartments in Hong Kong. In an unusual setup, Newman Investment Co Ltd, a "Subsidiary company of a CPG’s organ in Hong Kong," has been identified as a subsidiary of the Liaison Office. Purchases of property have been done both through the Liaison Office and secretly through Newman Investment. Also unusual is the fact that the Liaison Office has bought housing as a benefit to its employees. Although Newman Investment is a private company and is not registered as an incorporated public officer, which would qualify it from not paying stamp duties under section 41(1) of the Stamp Duty Ordinance, Hong Kong Chief Executives have, under section 52(1) of the SDO, have allowed Newman Investment to not pay stamp duties. This has allowed Newman Investment to escape stamp duties of several hundred million HKD within the last several years alone. This means that normal Hong Kong citizens who pay stamp duties and taxes are not only subsidizing the Liaison office, but also have less housing inventory to purchase on the market. For the past several years, several District Council members have asked the government for a detailed breakdown of property owned by the Liaison Office and Newman Investment, as well as the reasoning for Newman Investment, a private company, to escape paying stamp duties. The government has consistently only given brief summarized results, hiding details on the transactions, despite taxpayer money subsidizing the purchases. In April 2020,
Demosisto Demosisto (stylised Demosistō) () was a pro-democracy political organisation established on 10 April 2016 as a political party. It was led by Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow – former leaders of Scholarism, along with Nathan Law, former secre ...
distributed a press release, showing the extent of property purchases by the Liaison Office and Newman Investment. In the press release, it was shown that as of the end of February 2019, 722 residential units had been purchased, with 156 purchased by the Liaison Office, and the remaining 566 purchased through Newman Investment. In Newman Investment's February 2020 Annual Return (NAR1), it lists the Company Secretary as Xiao Xiaosan, and the four remaining directors as Chen Zhibin, Li Xuhong, Sun Zhongxin, and Chen Dunzhou. According to SCMP, directors of Newman have been officials from the Liaison Office's Administration and Finance Department.


Article 22 of the Basic Law

The Liaison Office is often criticised of acting beyond its jurisdiction and violating the "
One Country, Two Systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The constitutional principle was formulated in the earl ...
" principle and the
Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 a ...
as "no department of the Central People's Government and no province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law" as stipulated in the Article 22 of the Basic Law. All three departments of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong (Liaison Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Peoples Liberation Army) were "set up in the HKSAR by the central government in accordance with Article 22(2) of the Basic Law" according to the Hong Kong government's Information Services Department. However, in April 2020, the Central People's Government said that the Liaison Office was not classified under Article 22, and claimed their ability to “exercise supervision and express solemn attitudes on affairs regarding Hong Kong”.


Leadership


List of directors


Deputy directors

There are 7 deputy directors and one secretary-general, Wang Songmiao, underneath the director, Luo Huining. In April 2021, a deputy director, Tan Tieniu, rejected claims that the decision by the NPCSC to have only "patriots" serve in the government was a step back for democracy in the city. On 16 July 2021, the United States Treasury announced it would sanction the 7 deputy directors: * Chen Dong * Yang Jianping * Qiu Hong * Lu Xinning * Tan Tieniu * He Jing * Yin Zonghua


Roles in Hong Kong elections

* In
2016 Hong Kong legislative election Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film ...
, it was reported that the Hong Kong Liaison Office has been trying to "allocate" the votes to
Elizabeth Quat Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan, BBS, JP (, born 23 December 1966) is a Hong Kong politician associated with the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. She is a co-founder of the Internet Professional Association ...
,
Gary Chan Gary Chan Hak-kan, BBS, JP (born 24 April 1976) is a current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He represents the New Territories North East constituency and is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progre ...
and
Eunice Yung Eunice Yung Hoi-yan (; born 7 June 1977) is a Hong Kong barrister and pro-Beijing politician. She is a member of the New People's Party (NPP) and the Civil Force (CF). She became member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for New Territories ...
. The office also tried to allocated votes to
Christine Fong Christine Fong Kwok-shan (, born 28 March 1966) is an engineer and politician in Hong Kong, as well as a former child actress. She is a current member of the Sai Kung District Council. Early life and career Fong was a child actress at ATV in ...
, in the hope of defeating
Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council, representing the New Territories East. A Trotskyist ...
, who was competing directly with Fong for the marginal seats. * In the 2017 Chief Executive election, the Liaison Office reportedly canvassed for
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
behind the scenes, informing senior editors of the local pro-Beijing newspapers that Carrie Lam was Beijing's preferred candidate ahead of her declaration of candidacy and has actively lobbied for Lam. The senior editors were told to "gradually devote more extensive coverage" to Lam.


Gallery

Image:HK SYP OCMFAPRC 1.jpg, Sign at entrance Image:HK SYP OCMFAPRC 6.jpg, Entrance on Des Voeux Road West File:LOCPG HK 2012.JPG, View from
Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrume ...


See also

*
Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region () is a governmental office established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic ...
*
Office for Safeguarding National Security of the CPG in the HKSAR The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Abbreviation: CPGNSO; ) is a state security agency established by the Hong Kon ...
*
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency of the State Council of the People's Republic of China responsible for promoting cooperation and coordination of political, economic and cultural ties betwe ...
*
Macau Liaison Office The Macau Liaison Office, officially known as the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region ( (abbreviated: ); Portuguese: Gabinete de Ligação do Governo Central na RAEM) is the representativ ...
*
Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing The Beijing Office, officially the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in Beijing (BJO), is the representative office of the Government of Hong Kong in the national capital ...
*
One country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The constitutional principle was formulated in the earl ...


References


External links

* {{State Council of the People's Republic of China Politics of Hong Kong State Council of the People's Republic of China 2000 establishments in China 2000 establishments in Hong Kong Sai Ying Pun