China yesterday signaled its readiness to hold historic talks with Hong Kong democrats with whom it has been locked in a six-month tussle over democratic reforms.
Communist leaders in Beijing routinely refuse approaches by the city's democrats and have even barred the movement's leaders from entering the country.
But with relations between the former British colony and its leaders in Beijing at an all-time low, an official in China's Hong Kong Liaison Office has said it is time to talk.
"To enhance communications and have sober-minded talks with people with different views will benefit Hong Kong's social harmony and stability," the official was quoted as saying by China's official Xinhua news agency.
"It is the central authorities' wish and the common demand of Hong Kong residents to have sober-minded communications and face-to-face frank exchanges with those people, as well as seeking common points and jointly create an atmosphere of peace and harmony in Hong Kong," the statement said.
The statement came in response to an apparent charm offensive by Hong Kong democrats to pave the way for talks to end a crisis sparked by Beijing's ruling in April against swift electoral reforms in the territory.
Reformists say the move marked the beginning of a new era of hardline communist rule, breaking promises of a "high degree of autonomy" Beijing made when Hong Kong's sovereignty passed from Britain to China in 1997.
Democrats, among them Yeung Sum (楊森), the head of the movement's leading force, the Democratic Party, have called for an easing of tensions between the two.
Last week veteran pro-democracy legislator Lau Chin-shek (劉千石) appealed for a less combative stance by democrats and rights campaigner Christine Loh (陸恭蕙) suggested reformists should tone down the vitriol in protest banners.
Yesterday's statement said Beijing would do more to seek the views of the territory.
"We will take a more active attitude to have exchanges with people from various walks of life and social strata," it said, "in an effort to maintain the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and seek happiness and well-being for Hong Kong compatriots."
The statement also acknowledged calls in Hong Kong for universal suffrage to elect the next chief executive, in 2007, but denied the central government had been turning a deaf ear to them.
"The allegation that the central authorities had not listened to Hong Kong residents' suggestions ... goes against the facts," the statement said.
But, according to Xinhua, the official said "it does not matter that some Hong Kong people do not understand the central authorities' decisions for the time being. It is possible to seek common points while reserving differences."
Democracy campaigner Bishop Joseph Zen (
"Positive comments from Beijing are good," Zen said. "Everyone should make efforts to improve the political atmosphere and both sides should take substantive action."
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
North Korea has executed people for watching or distributing foreign television shows, including popular South Korean dramas, as part of an intensifying crackdown on personal freedoms, a UN human rights report said on Friday. Surveillance has grown more pervasive since 2014 with the help of new technologies, while punishments have become harsher — including the introduction of the death penalty for offences such as sharing foreign TV dramas, the report said. The curbs make North Korea the most restrictive country in the world, said the 14-page UN report, which was based on interviews with more than 300 witnesses and victims who had
COMFORT WOMEN CLASH: Japan has strongly rejected South Korean court rulings ordering the government to provide reparations to Korean victims of sexual slavery The Japanese government yesterday defended its stance on wartime sexual slavery and described South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese compensation as violations of international law, after UN investigators criticized Tokyo for failing to ensure truth-finding and reparations for the victims. In its own response to UN human rights rapporteurs, South Korea called on Japan to “squarely face up to our painful history” and cited how Tokyo’s refusal to comply with court orders have denied the victims payment. The statements underscored how the two Asian US allies still hold key differences on the issue, even as they pause their on-and-off disputes over historical
CONSOLIDATION: The Indonesian president has used the moment to replace figures from former president Jokowi’s tenure with loyal allies In removing Indonesia’s finance minister and U-turning on protester demands, the leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is scrambling to restore public trust while seizing a chance to install loyalists after deadly riots last month, experts say. Demonstrations that were sparked by low wages, unemployment and anger over lawmakers’ lavish perks grew after footage spread of a paramilitary police vehicle running over a delivery motorcycle driver. The ensuing riots, which rights groups say left at least 10 dead and hundreds detained, were the biggest of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s term, and the ex-general is now calling on the public to restore their
RSS