Expect A Government Reshuffle, Says Wu Chi-wai

Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai says he believes there will soon be a top-level government reshuffle as the anti-extradition crisis enters its sixth month.

Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, Wu said even though President Xi Jinping had showered Chief Executive Carrie Lam with praise when they met in Shanghai on Monday, that didn't mean Lam is here to stay.

"When Xi Jinping met with Carrie Lam this week, he expressed a high degree of trust in her and fully acknowledged the work of her and her governance team," he said. "However, Chinese politics can be ruthless, one could still be stabbed in the back even though a moment ago one was highly appreciated by the leader."

Wu said the former Chinese president Hu Jintao had praised Hong Kong's first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa for his work four days before the latter stepped down.

"History is bound to repeat itself. Hence how long Carrie Lam can stay in power is still questionable," Wu said.

Wu said a communique issued after last month's Communist Party plenum appeared to show that the Chief Executive would have to enact Article 23 national security legislation. He also said its wording also implied that Beijing would be taking full control of senior government appointments, making a reshuffle likely and reducing the SAR's autonomy. Wu claimed this stance was caused by fundamental misunderstandings about Hong Kong.

"Beijing’s national policy is increasingly leaning towards exercising overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and they believe that the prosperity of Hong Kong can be maintained even when its uniqueness is gone," he said. "Beijing just doesn’t seem to understand that Hong Kong’s disappointment comes from Beijing repeatedly breaking its promises."

Wu said Hong Kong was purely fighting for Beijing to keep its word.