The annual meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), known as the “vase” of the Chinese Communist Party, opened in Beijing on Thursday (March 4). In his opening speech, CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang hinted at a major change in the Communist Party’s policy on Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In his speech, Wang Yang, who ranks fourth in the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, said Beijing will support the principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong” and that only those who are wholeheartedly loyal to the Communist Party will be elected to the Hong Kong government.
The fourth meeting of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday afternoon. Wang Yang delivered a work report at the meeting.
The report has very little ink on the issue of Hong Kong and Taiwan, in two sentences, and then it’s all over. Wang Yang said Beijing “firmly supports the full implementation of the principle of ‘patriots ruling Hong Kong’, strengthening solidarity and friendship with compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese, and conducting research and consultation on strengthening patriotic Education for young people in Hong Kong and Macao and promoting cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation. “
Wang Yang also said, to “unite the Chinese children at Home and abroad to promote the unification of the motherland, and to join the great cause of national rejuvenation.”
The official Chinese media Xinhua News Agency and other introductions to Wang Yang’s speech also did not set up a special topic on the policy of Hong Kong and Taiwan, to introduce.
The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has no legislative power, and its function, as stipulated, is to conduct research and provide policy recommendations to the NPC. This year’s annual meeting of the NPC is scheduled for Friday.
Observers have noticed that Wang Yang has not mentioned the 12-word policy of “one country, two systems, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy” formulated by Deng Xiaoping, except for the reference to “patriots ruling Hong Kong.
Since Xi Jinping came to power, especially since the anti-SEC protests in Hong Kong, the CCP’s policy of governing Hong Kong has gradually changed. First, it emphasized the importance of “one country” over “two systems” in “one country, two systems,” then it omitted “a high degree of autonomy,” and now it includes “a high degree of autonomy. Then the “high degree of autonomy” was omitted, until the current “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” was replaced by “patriots ruling Hong Kong”. After these three steps, Deng Xiaoping’s promise of 50 years of unchanged Hong Kong policy has become a reality in Xi Jinping’s hands, with Beijing running Hong Kong affairs.
The implementation of the Communist Party’s national security law in Hong Kong last June brought about a substantial change in the situation in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government and Beijing have joined forces to use this legislation to launch an all-out crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp, and have recently pushed for patriots to rule Hong Kong in an attempt to completely exclude pro-democracy figures from Hong Kong’s legislative and executive decision-making processes. Analysts generally believe that the result will be the complete death of “one country, two systems.
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