Chief Executive Lee Ka-chao returned to Hong Kong yesterday (20th) after completing his trip to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before he set off, he stated that the purpose of this trip was to "tell Hong Kong's story well" and "show Hong Kong's return to the international stage". When summarizing the itinerary yesterday, he also praised that the foreign visit was very effective. He explained Hong Kong's advantages to business people from different places .
It is worth noting that during the trip, Li Jiachao met with many foreign leaders, including Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, etc., but mainly concentrated in Southeast Asian countries. He did not meet with leaders of European and American countries. It is inevitable that the effect of "telling the Hong Kong story" to the outside world will not be achieved. Perfect.
Some scholars believe that foreign affairs itself is the central authority. In addition, under the current geopolitical environment, the work that Hong Kong can do in international affairs will inevitably be "narrower" than before. Leaders of Western countries who are sensitive to political issues can only focus on dealing with ASEAN countries, which also to a certain extent indicates the role Hong Kong will play in the international community in the future.
Carrie Lam met Australian Prime Minister Donald Tsang and Hillary Clinton
According to the itinerary shared by Li Jiachao in the past few days, he met with the leaders of four Southeast Asian countries: Thai Prime Minister Prayut, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
These are all Southeast Asian countries, which traditionally have no hostile relationship with China, and have close cultural, economic and trade ties with Hong Kong.
The summit was attended by US Vice President Harrison Harris, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Western leaders. The SAR delegation did not see any form of contact with them.
Looking back at the past three administrations, Donald Tsang, Leung Chun-ying and Carrie Lam all represented Hong Kong at the APEC summit when they were chief executives, and meetings with officials from Western countries do not occur every year.
Among them, in 2018, when Carrie Lam attended the summit in Papua New Guinea, she met with then-Australian Prime Minister Morrison, who was considered a relatively pro-Western country.
In 2011, Donald Tsang held the last APEC meeting before leaving office. During the meeting in Honolulu, Donald Tsang met with the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attended the APEC entertainment activities and dinner, and took a photo with the then US President Barack Obama and his wife.
He later went to the United States to visit New York, Boston and Washington, and visited then US Deputy Secretary of State Burns (William Burns).
Changes in Hong Kong's world view after the amendment turmoil
Therefore, it is not necessary to meet with the leaders of Western countries, it depends on the schedule, but this year has its special background: after the storm of amendments in 2019, Hong Kong’s international identity and external worldview have changed, and the allegations against Hong Kong’s human rights situation , mainly from European and American countries, Li Jiachao himself was also sanctioned by the United States.
Since the new government is eager to "tell a good Hong Kong story", theoretically it is natural to take advantage of Li Jiachao's first foreign visit to seek meetings with leaders of Western countries to directly refute his statement, or at least to explain the situation in Hong Kong in a friendly manner.
Last Saturday, a reporter also asked whether the chief executive had talked with Western officials to specifically respond to their past criticisms.
Lee Ka-chao did not respond positively at the time. He only said that each leader will carry out the work according to his own schedule. "I have met with the leaders of 4 countries, but I also talked to different leaders about the actual situation in Hong Kong outside the meeting."
Yuan Michang.
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Yuan Michang: At present, exchanges with the West are relatively taboo, and the pattern will inevitably be narrowed
Current affairs commentator Yuan Michang pointed out that under the current international situation, it is difficult for Hong Kong to negotiate directly with the West in international affairs. Contacting and "telling the Hong Kong story well" to the West depends on the will of the Mainland, and it is not as free as before, so it is almost difficult to flex its muscles to the West." Therefore, even if it is just to discuss economic issues, I believe that meeting with Western officials will be relatively taboo in the future.
"China's current diplomacy is also facing certain difficulties, so it is not necessary to talk about pan-political issues. Don't talk about Hong Kong."
From a macroeconomic point of view, he pointed out that many companies in the world, whether in industry or other service industries, have relocated their factories or offices to Southeast Asian countries. Hong Kong can continue to maintain its hub position in the Asia-Pacific region under this environment. China and Southeast Asian countries play the role of contacts and show their strengths economically.
"Of course, in the future (participation in international affairs) the vision and structure will not be as grand as before, and we can only focus on ASEAN, but they are all of practical significance."
Yuan Michang also said that for Li Jiachao, who rarely visited foreign countries in the past, attending the APEC summit can be regarded as an experience to absorb. Li Jiachao has always been a member of the disciplined army, and he may not have too many details on issues such as trade exchanges and international cooperation. Therefore, There may not be too many in-depth topics to discuss with the leaders of other countries, but it is also possible to increase the experience of foreign exchanges through meetings.
Ye Liu Shuyi.
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Ye Liushuyi: Meeting Western leaders is also met by President Xi
The convener of the Executive Council, Yap Lau Suk-yee, pointed out that at the beginning of APEC's establishment, she was working in the Hong Kong and British government's business department, "seeing the establishment of it", in essence, it was an economic summit. Attending as a representative, former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten did not go either.
She pointed out that APEC meetings generally do not involve sensitive and complicated geopolitical issues, and even if they do, they are dealt with at the national level. "Western leaders wait for the president to meet, and the SAR meets with leaders of countries with close economic and trade relations."
APEC︱Li Jiachao summarizes the first foreign visit: visit local grocery stores to experience the advantages of Hong Kong’s low tax Business trip in Bangkok