Political situation
Written by: Sha Banshan
2020-09-22 07:00
Last update date: 2020-09-22 07:00
The third wave of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is coming to an end, but Hong Kong politics is still going through an eventful period, and it is unknown when it will see the new weather.
With the second half of the term of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, politicians have begun to guess what new faces will emerge in the accountability team and other important public positions of the next government.
A politician who knows the pulse of Beijing said that recently two people who emerged from the era of former chief executive Donald Tsang have been included in the radar net of Beijing's "point generals", and they have a great chance of being "in power" in the future.
The two are Li Xiaojia, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Liang Zhuowei, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong.
Li Xiaojia.
(Profile picture)
Li Xiaojia actively promotes the integration of China and Hong Kong financial markets
Li Xiaojia has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2010. During his tenure, he promoted the integration of the Chinese and Hong Kong financial markets, including the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" and "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect", allowing "North Water" to flow into Hong Kong. He also reformed the listing rules. Let "same shares with different rights" companies go public in Hong Kong.
He is also a member of the CPPCC National Committee in Hong Kong. In other words, he should be able to "get high scores" in the "trust of the central government."
Li Xiaojia announced in May of this year that he would not renew his post on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after the contract expires in October next year. The "time point" is quite close to the expiration of the current government.
At that time, he responded to a reporter's question about whether he wanted to run for the next chief executive, and only said with a smile, "Do you think my heart is very strong?" He did not directly deny it.
Next year, when he is 60 years old, he said that after the age of 60, he "will not go home and play with his children and grandchildren to retire," implying that he will have a "fate" after leaving office.
The Chief Executive Election Ordinance stipulates that nominated candidates for chief executive must have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for at least 20 consecutive years before the vacancy of the chief executive.
Li Xiaojia worked in the Mainland for a long time before joining the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Whether he meets this requirement is still unknown.
However, outsiders estimate that even if Li Xiaojia cannot run for the Chief Executive, with his reputation and qualifications, he still has the opportunity to continue to develop in the officialdom, especially in the financial system.
Some people in the political circle said that Li Xiaojia was born in the Mainland, and his daily communication and external speeches are mainly in Mandarin. If he becomes an accountable official, he will be the first secretary of the bureau whose main language is Mandarin in Hong Kong. Is this "limited" or "Breakthrough" is all within one thought of Beijing.
The politician also said that politically, Li Xiaojia has gained the trust of Beijing. Even if he is not an accountable official, other important statutory bodies are his potential "next stop."
Liang Zhuowei.
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Liang Zhuowei used to be the "General Manager" of the government
As for Liang Zhuowei, who is only 47 years old, he is a rare person with extensive experience in medicine and public administration.
After the Tsang Yam-kuen government expanded the accountability system in 2008, Leung Cheuk-wai became the first Deputy Director of the Food and Health Bureau. In 2011, he was transferred to the Chief Executive Office of the "General Manager". In 2012, Tsang Yam-kuen returned to academia after resignation and became the University of Hong Kong in 2013. Dean of the academy until now.
In January of this year, when the new crown pneumonia epidemic broke out in Wuhan, Liang Zhuowei was a member of the expert team who went to Wuhan for inspection. He later became one of the four expert consultants of the government's anti-epidemic steering committee and command center, and the exposure rate increased greatly.
Although Liang Zhuowei made a mistake at the anti-epidemic press conference on the first day of the new year, claiming that "wearing a mask can't speak" caused controversy. However, he later apologized to the public through social networks and admitted that he was rash in answering questions, at least showing that he had a certain degree Political touch and tolerance.
The source mentioned: "Professional doctors have a high social status in Hong Kong, and talents with both medical and government experience are even more rare." As for Liang Zhuowei, who was the former deputy director, does "superior" mean that he will "sit down" as the next director. , Or occupy other important positions?
The source did not explicitly say.
It is worth mentioning that during the election of the Chief Executive in 2012, Liang Zhenying was involved in the conflict of interest in West Kowloon. At that time, a report quoted information saying that he had written an article advocating the establishment of a second governing force for the central government in Hong Kong. Cao Erbao, at the Jockey Club Clubhouse, met with Liang Zhuowei, then director of the Chief Executive's Office, and asked him to try to prevent the Legislative Council from intervening in the investigation, but the interviews ended up being "unhappy."
It seems that the "encounter" did not affect Liang Zhuowei's ascent.
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Li Xiaojia Liang Zhuowei's political circles