Leung's trip not intented to regain trust for second term: experts
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying arrived in Beijing Sunday and is scheduled to meet with the central government on Monday, which local media in Hong Kong speculated is intended at regaining the trust of the central government to run for a second term, a claim refuted by some observers.
Before departing for Beijing, Leung told reporters at the Hong Kong airport on Sunday that the two-day visit aims to discuss plans to improve the city's economic development and residents' livelihood.
It has been three weeks since the political reform package, which proposed universal suffrage to elect the chief executive in 2017, was voted down by the Hong Kong SAR legislature.
Leung said the Hong Kong government has been discussing the next stage of work for the region's economic and social development, and is going to submit its opinions to the central government and seek support during his visit.
"Hong Kong, particularly for its economic development, needs support from the central government and cooperation with the mainland provinces and cities," Leung said.
Some local media had speculated that Leung is taking the chance to seek central government's support to run for the second term as well as to regain Beijing's trust after the political reform package failed to pass in June.
However, experts in Beijing refuted such claims, noting that Leung's term of office still has two years to go, so it is not on the most pressing matter for the Hong Kong leader to pursue. Leung had also said on Saturday that he was not planning to seek a second term in 2017.
"Following the voting down of the political reform package, it is time for the government to proceed to the next stage of work and adjust its economic and social policies," Tian Feilong, a legal expert at Beihang University in Beijing, told the Global Times.
"By boosting the city's economy, increasing employment and solving other social problems that arose during the Occupy protest, Leung can improve his popularity in the SAR and gain recognition of the central government," he said.
Tian believes the next two years will be critical for Leung because he has to show both the central government and Hong Kong citizens that he is capable of improving the city's social conditions and tackle protests that will continue to be held by the radical opposition groups. The fact that the reform package was rejected does not affect the central government's trust in him because it was not the local government but the legislators who neglected the city's needs and said "no" to the plan, he added.
Leung will also discuss how Hong Kong can contribute to the "One belt, One road" initiative while strengthening the city's development, he revealed on Saturday in a media interview.
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, a Hong Kong legislator, told the Global Times that Hong Kong, with its long trading experience, could contribute to the designing of "One belt, One Road" projects.
