China replaces head of its Hong Kong and Macau affairs office
13 February, 2020
China has replaced the top of its office overseeing matters in Hong Kong , making him the foremost senior Beijing-appointed official to lose his job within the wake of sometimes-violent anti-government protests in Hong Kong .
China's Human Resources Ministry announced on Thursday (Feb 13) that Zhang Xiaoming would be removed as director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), to get replaced by Xia Baolong, a 67-year-old president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Hong Kong has been roiled by quite seven months of protests over an extradition Bill that might have allowed suspects to be sent to China for trial.
Zhang's removal follows Beijing's move in January to exchange the top of its Hong Kong liaison office.
Xia was Chinese President Xi Jinping's deputy when Xi was the Communist Party secretary of Zhejiang province from 2003 to 2007. He became known for a hard-line approach in 2015 for a campaign to level underground churches there.
The government also said on Thursday that it had appointed as deputy directors of the HKMAO Luo Huining, who became the new liaison office head in January, and Fu Ziying, the director of the Macau liaison office.
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