Sun Shangwu, former deputy editor-in-chief at the state-run news outlet China Daily, has been appointed deputy director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.
The appointment, made by China’s State Council, was announced on Saturday on the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
According to his bio on the Liaison Office’s website, Sun holds a postgraduate degree and previously served as a member of the editorial committee and deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily.
Local media reported that Sun, 56, attended the University of International Relations in Beijing and joined China Daily after graduating in 1993. He worked as a political reporter and later served as deputy director of both the domestic news department and the international news department. The reports also stated that he led the editorial unit and had worked as a deputy editor-in-chief for years.
HK01 cited unnamed sources who said that sending Sun, an expert with a strong background in external relations, to Hong Kong showed the city’s “international status” in Beijing’s eyes and its recognition of Hong Kong’s importance in promoting external communications.
The state-backed newspaper Wen Wei Po described Sun as having “extensive experience in external propaganda.”
Ming Pao reported on Sunday that Liaison Office deputy director Lu Xinning, who was in charge of promotion and propaganda, was transferred to take up a Chinese Communist Party post in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in August last year.
According to local media, Sun – one of the Liaison Office’s five deputy directors – is expected to take charge of promotion work.
On Sunday, Sun attended a meeting in Beijing with Nong Rong, deputy chief of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO), along with a delegation of around 20 senior Hong Kong media executives.
Sun’s appointment comes months after Zhou Ji, formerly the executive deputy director of the HKMAO, was named director of the Liaison Office in late May, succeeding Zheng Yanxiong.
According to the Liaison Office’s website, it is tasked with liaising with China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison.
It also assists relevant mainland authorities in managing Chinese-funded institutions in Hong Kong.
The Liaison Office, which was the Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong Branch until the city’s Handover in 1997, is responsible for promoting exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland.
It also reports the opinions of Hong Kong residents on the mainland to Beijing, handles Taiwan-related issues, and undertakes other tasks assigned by the central government.
