Hong Kong’s John Lee urges public to study paper issued after Beijing’s third plenum

Lee makes call after Communist Party wraps up third plenary session of its 20th Central Committee with agreed reform push

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Hong Kong’s leader and top ministers have congratulated the Communist Party on wrapping up the third plenary session for its 20th Central Committee. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:16pm, 18 Jul 2024Updated: 12:03am, 19 Jul 2024

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has urged “all sectors of the community” to study a communique issued after a top Communist Party meeting in Beijing, while pledging the city will do its part in contributing to the nation’s modernisation.

Lee issued the call on Thursday as he and several of his senior aides sent congratulatory messages to mark the end of the party’s third plenary session for its 20th Central Committee, where it adopted a resolution to further deepen reform promoting high-quality development to build China into a modern socialist country.

While the communique did not feature an individual section on Hong Kong, an official source noted that it mentioned the party’s leadership “continued to push forward works related to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan” as it recapped the Politburo’s work.

The source also noted that Zheng Yanxiong, director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, who has yet to be made a Central Committee member, had attended plenum discussions chaired by executive vice-premier Ding Xuexiang, who leads the Central Leading Group of Hong Kong and Macau Works, the party’s key unit on Hong Kong affairs.

Zheng was also seen presenting in front of Ding in footage aired on China Central Television prime time news on Thursday evening.

“That shows Beijing has very high hopes for Hong Kong, which should play a critical role in the Greater Bay Area’s overall development,” the source said.