Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will unveil the budget at the end of February, a hot topic across Hong Kong society. However, at this critical juncture, Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee, made a rare visit to Qianhai and held a four-hour meeting with key Hong Kong officials, sparking widespread attention and speculation.
Notably, Chief Executive John Lee was absent from the meeting with the seven key officials. It turns out that Lee was in Harbin at the time, touring facilities related to the Asian Winter Games. This arrangement raises the question: Is this just a coincidence, or does it represent a deeper political signal?
At the same time, Xia Baolong rarely issued "clear instructions" to Hong Kong officials, requiring Hong Kong to better integrate into the overall national development. Do these instructions also involve the fiscal budget? Does he give instructions to the Financial Secretary Paul Chan and directly intervene in Hong Kong's economic affairs?
