Ex-HK chief Tung Chee-hwa urges China and US to be rational
Former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa on Thursday called for a “rational and open-minded” approach to Sino-United States relations after presidential election winner Joe Biden took office in January.
Tung, as vice chair of the nation’s top think tank, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is a senior adviser to the Beijing government.
He said Beijing and Washington should work together to tackle their differences.
“Every country can join hands to build a world that is peaceful, inclusive and prosperous,” Tung said in a speech delivered at a virtual event organized by Our Hong Kong Foundation, a local think tank he founded.
“With president-elect Joe Biden about to take office, will Sino-U.S. relations improve? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I certainly hope that major powers’ competition would be conducted in a rational and open-minded way.”
The 83-year-old said that national security laws introduced in Hong Kong had helped restore law and order and brought about “effective, devoted and faithful” government that was key to the city’s long-term success. He urged Hongkongers to stand together in unity and put aside their differences.
“We are facing the greatest opportunity in Hong Kong’s history,” he said. “We will have a bigger role to play in integrating into the national dual circulation growth model. Integration with the Greater Bay Area will reenergize Hong Kong as we play a big role in the vast opportunities that the Greater Bay Area presents.”
The city’s gross domestic product in the third quarter contracted 3.5% in real terms compared with the same period last year, as the jobless rate stood at 6.3%. Tung said Hong Kong would thrive again after the pandemic was over, as the city was riding the “high-speed train of Chinese national development.”
Beijing had on multiple occasions helped maintain the city’s stability, including the financial crisis in 1997, he continued. “Hong Kong as an open economy is no exception. When the Hong Kong dollar was under attack during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the central government came to our rescue with the full backing of the national resources.”
These remarks contrasted with his comments in 2017 that Beijing had rejected a request from Hong Kong to help the city maintain financial stability and fend off currency speculators.
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