Top Beijing official for Hong Kong claims pan-democrats can become ‘constructive force’ in restless city
Wang Guangya’s comments for July 1 article also address local political figures’ mainland travel issues
The man who oversees a key mainland institution on Hong Kong matters has described the city as undergoing a “restless period” with independence advocates emerging but expressed confidence they will fade from the scene and a new generation of politicians will “mature”.
In a rare gesture, he called them “part of the establishment from the Basic Law perspective” because they were members of the legislature laid down in the mini-constitution.
“We are actively resolving some problems of the pan-democrats relating to the mainland. We hope the pan-democrats become a constructive force [for Hong Kong],” he said.
While Wang did not specify the “problems”, it is widely understood in political circles to be the issuance of home-return permits to the pan-democrats, many of whom lost their papers after their support of the Tiananmen Square student movement of 1989.