Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Beijing official with ties to Hong Kong appointed to deputy role in advisory body

Beijing official with ties to Hong Kong appointed to deputy role in advisory body

Zhang Xiaoming, former executive deputy director of state-level Hong Kong office, made deputy secretary general of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

A senior Beijing official with more than three decades of experience in handling Hong Kong affairs was appointed a deputy secretary general of the nation’s top political advisory body on Wednesday.

The state-run CCTV reported on Wednesday that Zhang Xiaoming, former executive deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), was formally appointed a deputy secretary general at the close of a three-day meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) standing committee in Beijing.

Zhang Xiaoming (centre), the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office at the time, and Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng (centre left) meet a delegation of the disciplined services from Hong Kong.


It remains unclear who will succeed Zhang as executive deputy director of the administrative agency.

Last month, the Post reported that Zhang had been picked as a deputy secretary general of the CPPCC, as part of efforts by the advisory body to pursue a greater level of engagement with the local community.

An insider had previously said the move signified Beijing’s intention to strengthen the work of the CPPCC in relation to Hong Kong and Macau, with an emphasis on connecting with residents of both cities from different walks of life.

Hong Kong-based political analyst, Professor Lau Siu-kai, also a vice-chairman of Beijing’s semi-official think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said he expected Zhang would play a bigger role in stepping up liaison work in the community after joining the CPPCC.

“It has been the plan of the central government to mobilise the CPPCC delegates more to help expand the influence of the pro-Beijing force,” Lau said.

Hui Ching, research director of policy think tank the Hong Kong Zhi Ming Institute, said Zhang’s appointment could be “a signal that Beijing likes to have more people with Hong Kong experience to help the CPPCC’s work” such as promoting the nation’s policies.

“The CPPCC is an important agency in the political structure of China. It is wrong to interpret that Zhang’s transfer means he is being demoted, although the CPPCC is not a government executive agency, unlike HKMAO,” Hui added.

Zhang, 58, began working at the HKMAO in 1989 after graduating from Renmin University of China Law School, serving as the agency’s deputy director from 2004 to 2012.

He was then promoted to the role of director for Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, later becoming director of the HKMAO in 2017. But Zhang’s term at the agency’s helm was rocked by the city’s anti-government protests in 2019, which were triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill.

In February 2020, the central government appointed Xia Baolong, CPPCC vice-chairman and secretary general, to take over as director, while Zhang was made executive deputy director.

Xia is widely regarded as a trusted ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the pair having worked together for more than four years in the mid-2000s when Xi was Communist Party chief in Zhejiang province and Xia served as his deputy.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×