Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that Hong Kong has been a part of China “since ancient times,” citing the Basic Law, in response to questions over Hong Kong gaining independence after 2047.
Leung was responding to reporters asking him to comment on the latest issue of Undergrad, a student-run magazine of the University of Hong Kong. It suggested that Hong Kong should become an independent sovereign state recognised by the United Nations when the One Country Two Systems agreement expires in 2047.
“It was said in the preamble of the Basic Law that, since ancient times, Hong Kong is a part of China… this fact would not change after 2047,” Leung said. “This is stipulated in the Basic Law, it is our constitutional arrangement, and it is a common knowledge.”
Leung also said the capitalist system in Hong Kong would remain unchanged for 50 years before 2047, as promised in the Basic Law.
“I believe that everyone would think that after 2047, the capitalist system and the way of life of Hong Kong today do not need to and shall not be changed,” Leung said.
Last year, Leung criticised a story in Undergrad in his 2015 policy address. He wrote that the story “advocates that Hong Kong should find a way to self-reliance and self-determination… We must stay alert… against putting forward such fallacies”.
