High-level visit to HK to 'observe, listen and speak'

A view of Hong Kong's Central business district. Edmond Tang / China Daily

As China's top legislator pointed out soon after his plane landed in Hong Kong on Tuesday, one of the purposes of his visit was to bring people in the special administrative region the best wishes of the central government.

He conveyed the "warm regards" of President Xi Jinping to people of Hong Kong and said he brought "the care of the central government and all Chinese people".

From the guarantee of stable food supplies to Hong Kong in the 1950s and the pumping of fresh water from East River to ease Hong Kong's water shortage since the 1960s, to the introduction of the Individual Visitor Scheme in 2003 to invigorate Hong Kong's faltering economy following the SARS epidemic, the central government has continually demonstrated its care and concern for the people of Hong Kong.

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, is the highest-ranking official to visit the special administrative region since 2012, when former president Hu Jintao came to preside over ceremonies marking the 15th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland.

Zhang is on a three-day inspection tour of Hong Kong, and said he had come to "observe, listen and speak".

He will certainly seek to observe first-hand the current situation in the special administrative region－his trip is an inspection tour after all.

And, among other occasions, he will speak at a Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday, outlining a clear picture of the initiative and the role Hong Kong can play in it.

The special administrative region has immense experience in foreign trade and is equipped with financial services expertise that will certainly enable it to fully contribute to the initiative, thereby finding the way forward for its currently troubled economy.

But listening is equally important on Zhang's agenda, and he is putting an emphasis on listening to the recommendations and requirements Hong Kong residents have about implementing the cardinal principle of "One Country, Two Systems".

He said he intends "to listen to all sectors of society", and he will speak with lawmakers, including some from the "pro-democracy" camp, political, business and community leaders in Hong Kong.

Whoever speaks with him should take full advantage of this opportunity to present to the NPC chairman their aspirations for the development of the SAR. For one cannot listen if nobody speaks.