Beijing dispatched a senior Communist Party figure to Hong Kong yesterday in a bid to smooth out tensions that have been growing since China told the territory it can't quickly implement full democracy.
Critics charged that Liu Yandong's (
After presiding over the ceremonial display of one of Buddha's fingers, Liu said she was reaching out as a "friend" to all segments of Hong Kong.
"Keeping on good terms with others who hold different opinions is the essence of the Chinese nation," Liu said.
But she avoided the touchy topic of democratic reforms by holding firmly to Beijing's line that talks with Hong Kong people should be related to "achieving the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong."
Beijing angered many residents of the territory last month by ruling out direct elections for Hong Kong's next leader in 2007 and all lawmakers in 2008, claiming that universal suffrage could bring social and economic instability.
Pro-democratic politicians were skeptical of Liu's motives.
"She is not trying to befriend anyone," said legislator Andrew Cheng (
Liu appeared with Hong Kong's unpopular leader, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
The holy relic is revered by many of Hong Kong's Buddhists, who were celebrating Buddha's birthday yesterday, but critics called Beijing's decision to bring it here for 10 days a blatantly political gesture.
Liu was set later to meet with various representatives of the Hong Kong community, which has been simmering with political anger since China's top legislative panel ruled out full democracy in the near term for Hong Kong.
Liu heads the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which seeks to build ties between her party and various elements of Chinese society.
Her visit was seen by many observers as a move to lessen public discontent as Hong Kong prepares for elections in September that will let ordinary voters choose 30 of the 60 Legislative Council seats.
The rest are chosen by special interest groups such as business leaders.
Although Liu was making conciliatory gestures, such as a dinner planned for last night that was to include the head of Hong Kong's Roman Catholic Church as well as Muslim, Protestant and Buddhist leaders, critics cautioned it would take more to win the hearts of Hong Kong's people.
"What Liu could create may be a better atmosphere for discussion, but that won't change the public's attitude toward Beijing if it still refuses to consider their views and make real changes," said political scientist Chan Kin-man (
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
HOPEFUL FOR PEACE: Zelenskiy said that the war would ‘end sooner’ with Trump and that Ukraine must do all it can to ensure the fighting ends next year Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom early yesterday suspended gas deliveries via Ukraine, Vienna-based utility OMV said, in a development that signals a fast-approaching end of Moscow’s last gas flows to Europe. Russia’s oldest gas-export route to Europe, a pipeline dating back to Soviet days via Ukraine, is set to shut at the end of this year. Ukraine has said it would not extend the transit agreement with Russian state-owned Gazprom to deprive Russia of profits that Kyiv says help to finance the war against it. Moscow’s suspension of gas for Austria, the main receiver of gas via Ukraine, means Russia now only
‘HARD-HEADED’: Some people did not evacuate to protect their property or because they were skeptical of the warnings, a disaster agency official said Typhoon Man-yi yesterday slammed into the Philippines’ most populous island, with the national weather service warning of flooding, landslides and huge waves as the storm sweeps across the archipelago nation. Man-yi was still packing maximum sustained winds of 185kph after making its first landfall late on Saturday on lightly populated Catanduanes island. More than 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi as the weather forecaster warned of a “life-threatening” effect from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather. Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after hitting Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone
RSS