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Hong Kong on right path to success, acting leader says, evoking challenges of 1911 revolution

  • With ‘patriots’ in office and support of central government, city should be confident in future, Paul Chan says
  • Nation’s top official in charge of Taiwanese affairs also calls for unity against separatists seeking to split island from motherland

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Paul Chan speaks at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1911 revolution. Photo: Handout
Christy Leung
Residents should be confident Hong Kong is on the path to success with the principle of “patriots” holding office now firmly in place and the city enjoying strong support from the central government, acting leader Paul Chan Mo-po said on Thursday at a ceremony marking the 1911 revolution that ended dynastic rule in China.
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Addressing the same event, the country’s top official in charge of Taiwanese affairs called on the city to stand united against independence for the self-ruled island, noting Hong Kong was an important base for the revolution more than a century ago.

Chan, who is acting chief executive while Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her deputy are away on an official visit in mainland China, pointed to the struggle the nation had undergone and stressed the events of 1911 had a significant meaning for Hong Kong as well.

“Development is a journey and the process will inevitably have ups and downs,” Chan said. “But as long as the road and direction are correct, and we are firm and persistent, the goal will be achieved.”

A giant portrait of Dr Sun Yat-sen, who is widely recognised as the father of modern China, goes up in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
A giant portrait of Dr Sun Yat-sen, who is widely recognised as the father of modern China, goes up in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
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The revolution ended more than 2,132 years of dynastic rule and led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. Key figures in the early days of the movement were based in Hong Kong.

While the city had faced significant challenges following the 1997 handover from British to Chinese sovereignty, it could solve problems and enter a new era through integration with the mainland, he said.

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