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China announced Friday that it replaced its senior official in Hong Kong which was considered a symbol of the hard approach of Beijing towards the territory since the pro-democracy demonstrations.
The Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said that it suppressed Zheng Yanxiong from several key positions, notably as director of the Liaison Office of the Popular Government of the Central in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Zheng was considered the best envoy to the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong and a key connection to the Managing Director of Hong Kong, John Lee, who was appointed by the Chinese Council of State as head of the Hong Kong government.
No reason was given on Friday for having withdrawn Zheng and if he was appointed to another position.
Zheng was sent by Beijing to Hong Kong in 2019 to supervise the repression against the demonstrations, before his appointment in 2020 as the first head of the office for the safeguard of national security in Hong Kong. In 2023, he was promoted director of the Liaison Office – the position he cancels now.
Throughout his mandate, he aggressively promoted the application of the Hong Kong National Security Act while Beijing sought to reduce the freedoms that had distinguished the city of the continent since the 1997 transfer of British control. His mandate has seen more strict controls on the press, the academic world and civil society – aroused generalized international criticism.
In 2020, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Zheng under the Hong Kong autonomy law to undermine the city's autonomy, prohibiting it from entering the United States.
In 2023, Zheng crossed the unprecedented measure to review a ceremony for graduation of the Hong Kong police, warning new officers of “hostile foreign forces” trying to make a return. Analysts said it was aimed at asserting Pékin's firm control over security in the territory.
Friday's announcement said that the Chinese Council of State had now appointed Zhou Ji to succeed Zheng as director of the liaison office and national security advisor in Hong Kong.
Zhou was previously Executive Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Bureau of the Council of State.
Edited by Mat Pennington.