The top representative, Wang Zhimin, was replaced as the head of the powerful Central Liaison Office in Hong Kong by Luo Huining, the official Xinhua news service said. The move came two months after the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee called for measures to “safeguard national security” in Hong Kong, although few details have been released.
Mr. Wang became the first senior official to lose his job after seven months of often-violent protests in the city and a stinging rebuff to pro-Beijing political parties in local elections six weeks ago. He had devoted most of his career to Hong Kong issues and had worked closely for decades with the city’s business and political elite. But he attracted broad criticism in Hong Kong and Beijing alike for failing to anticipate the broad-based groundswell of hostility provoked by an extradition bill last spring.
Mr. Wang then made no move to stop scheduled elections for neighborhood district councils in November, in the mistaken confidence that pro-Beijing candidates would maintain their longstanding dominance. Pro-democracy candidates captured 87 percent of the seats.
Mr. Wang then made no move to stop scheduled elections for neighborhood district councils in November, in the mistaken confidence that pro-Beijing candidates would maintain their longstanding dominance. Pro-democracy candidates captured 87 percent of the seats.
