Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs

Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
Simplified Chinese	中央港澳工作领导小组
Traditional Chinese	中央港澳工作領導小組
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhōngyāng Gǎng Ào Gōngzuò Lǐngdǎo Xiǎozǔ
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	zung1 joeng1 gong2 ou3 gung1 zok3 ling5 dou6 siu2 zou2

Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
中央港澳工作领导小组
Formation	August 1978
Type	Policy coordination and consultation body
Location	Beijing;
Leader	Ding Xuexiang[1]
Deputy Leaders	Sun Chunlan; Yang Jiechi; You Quan
Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Chief	Xia Baolong
Parent organisation	Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Subsidiaries	Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office

The Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs (Chinese: 中央港澳工作领导小组; pinyin: Zhōngyāng Gǎng Ào Gōngzuò Lǐngdǎo Xiǎozǔ) is an internal policy coordination group of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reporting to the CCP Politburo, in charge of supervising and coordinating Beijing's policy towards the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The Group is the highest body for China's policy towards Hong Kong and Macau. The General Office for the group is also known as the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

History

The Group was established as the Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macau Affairs on 17 August 1978 though an informal Hong Kong-Macau affairs group had formed much earlier.[2] Its founding memo described the group's aim as "seek truth from facts, approach things appropriately according to the situation, do not assume what works in the mainland will work elsewhere, be flexible."

In order to deal with increasingly serious July 1 marches in Hong Kong in 2003, then Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) member and Vice President Zeng Qinghong became leader of the group that year, and China's policy towards the SARs underwent significant reforms. Most notably, the group enacted the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, preferential trade agreements, and the Individual Visit Scheme, which allowed mainlanders to visit Hong Kong and Macau on an individual basis without having to apply for group visas or go through officially approved tour groups.

In 2020, in the context of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the group was upgraded from a Central Coordination Group to a Central Leading Group.[3]

Under the Party and state reforms adopted in 2023, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council became the external name of the "Hong Kong and Macau Work Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party".[4][5]

Functions

The Central Leading Group is the CCP's top decision-making body in regards to Hong Kong and Macau.[6]

The Hong Kong and Macau Work Office is the executive arm of the Central Leading Group, responsible for researching, coordinating between national and local governments, and supervising the implementation of Hong Kong and Macau affairs related policies, such as the one country, two systems framework and national security.[6] The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, previously a separate unit, is the external name of the Office.

Membership

Since 2003, the group has always been led by a member of the PSC. The leader of the Central Leading Group is generally the First Vice Premier, with the Minister of Public Security and director of the Hong Kong and Macau Work Office serving as deputy leaders. Other members generally include head of the United Front Work Department, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the CCP Committee secretary and governor of Guangdong, and the directors of the Hong Kong and Macau Liaison Offices.[6]

Leadership

Zeng Qinghong (2003–2007)
Xi Jinping (2007–2012)
Zhang Dejiang (2012–2018)
Han Zheng (2018–March 2023)[7]
Ding Xuexiang (March 2023 –)[1]

Current composition

Leader (20th Congress)

Ding Xuexiang,[1] CCP Politburo Standing Committee member, First Vice-Premier of the State Council

Deputy Leaders (19th Congress)

Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
Zhao Kezhi, Minister of Public Security

Members (19th Congress)

Yang Jiechi, CCP Politburo member, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office
Li Xi, CCP Politburo member, Party Secretary of Guangdong
Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
You Quan, CCP Secretariat member, Head of the CCP United Front Work Department
Luo Huining, Director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong
Fu Ziying, Director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Macau

References

"港媒：丁薛祥主管港澳事务". 2023-03-21.
"1978年8月12日中央决定成立港澳小组". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
Cheung, Tony; Cheung, Gary; Sum, Lok-kei (29 May 2020). "National security law: Hong Kong delegates to NPC say US retaliatory measures will not weaken Beijing's resolve". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
"Beijing's key office on Hong Kong affairs to answer directly to China's top Communist Party leadership". South China Morning Post. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
Lam, Jeffie; Wu, Willa (19 March 2023). "How to understand the 'elevation' of Beijing's top office for Hong Kong affairs? Is the city more 'special' now? Analysts unpack the meaning behind the move". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
"Decoding Chinese Politics". Asia Society. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
Pomfret, James; Torode, Greg (August 30, 2019). "Exclusive: Amid crisis, China rejected Hong Kong plan to appease protesters - sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

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[z1-1] "港媒：丁薛祥主管港澳事务". 2023-03-21.

[people-2] "1978年8月12日中央决定成立港澳小组". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-12-28.

[3] Cheung, Tony; Cheung, Gary; Sum, Lok-kei (29 May 2020). "National security law: Hong Kong delegates to NPC say US retaliatory measures will not weaken Beijing's resolve". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

[4] "Beijing's key office on Hong Kong affairs to answer directly to China's top Communist Party leadership". South China Morning Post. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

[5] Lam, Jeffie; Wu, Willa (19 March 2023). "How to understand the 'elevation' of Beijing's top office for Hong Kong affairs? Is the city more 'special' now? Analysts unpack the meaning behind the move". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 March 2023.

[:02-6] "Decoding Chinese Politics". Asia Society. Retrieved 2 October 2023.

[reuters-pomfret-aug-2019-7] Pomfret, James; Torode, Greg (August 30, 2019). "Exclusive: Amid crisis, China rejected Hong Kong plan to appease protesters - sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.