Hong Kong will have a bright future if the city stays on the right course, Zheng Yanxiong, the newly appointed head of Beijing’s office in Hong Kong, has said.

Zheng assumed office on Monday, replacing Luo Huining as the head of the central government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

Zheng Yanxiong meeting the press outside Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong on January 16, 2023.
Zheng Yanxiong meeting the press outside Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong on January 16, 2023. Photo: China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

The hardliner was previously the head of the Central Government’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. Prior to his appointment to Hong Kong, Zheng served in local government in Guangdong province.

While there, Zheng crushed anti-corruption protests that erupted in a Guangdong village in 2011, after the death of an activist in police custody.

Hong Kong’s national security office was established with the implementation of the Beijing-imposed law that criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure.

The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China.

However, the central government, as well as the Hong Kong administration, have credited the legislation for bringing the city “from chaos to order” and “advancing to prosperity.”

Zheng Yanxiong (right) meeting with Luo Huining (left).
Zheng Yanxiong (right) meeting with Luo Huining (left). Photo: China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

Speaking to reporters outside the liaison office in Sai Wan, the newly appointed chief said that as long as Hong Kong “does not make a mess of itself, [and] stays on the right course,” the city will have a great future.

Zheng also thanked China’s leader Xi Jinping, his predecessor Luo, and “Hong Kong workers,” as well as expressing gratitude for the support of the city’s various sectors.

The newly appointed official also said that he would try his best to become a director who “knows Hong Kong, loves Hong Kong, and [works] for the good of Hong Kong.”

“[I will] speak more for Beijing in Hong Kong, and more for Hong Kong in Beijing,” said Zheng.

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Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics.