Liaison office chief: HK must embrace reform

Hong Kong must embrace reform and avoid complacency, said Zhou Ji, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, at the Chinese New Year gathering held last night at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Zhou praised the city’s resilience over the past year, noting how different sectors united to overcome natural disasters and a major fire while successfully holding the Legislative Council election.

He expressed confidence that Hong Kong can better coordinate development and security, foster new productive forces, and continue reforms for the benefit of its people. “It is better to be a reformer facing difficulties than to be a complacent bystander,” he said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also addressed the gathering, pledging that the SAR government will actively align with the national framework, and said that the administration will strengthen its sense of responsibility. Entering the Year of the Horse, he added, Hong Kong will “take the lead,” further advancing the principle of executive-led governance and integrating it across different areas to enhance effectiveness.

Officials, including Head of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong Dong Jingwei, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong Cui Jianchun and Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying, attended.