Zhang Jiaji, a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said on Monday that the political problems in Hong Kong may have a bad effect on the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Zhang Jiaji, a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)[Photo/China.org.cn]

Zhang said that a few people with an agenda have been destroying the strategy of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation.

"Guangdong Province has tried very hard and conducted years of research and designs for the regional cooperative plan. But Hong Kong, a major part of the cooperation, has a lot of noise and political barriers," he said.

"For example, when we initiated a cooperative zone, somebody said that Chief Executive of Hong Kong CY Leung was going to transfer Hong Kong's resources to the mainland," said Zhang. "We are also building a high-speed rail, of which the mainland section has already been completed, but the Hong Kong section has not. Some people even said the rail is for us to transport PLA armies to Hong Kong. Isn't it ridiculous? Another example is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. We have finished our part (of the bridge), but the Hong Kong part is yet to be completed. There are too many political obstacles, which have slowed down substantial progress."

Zhang Jiaji is in Beijing attending the annual session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee, China's top political advisory body, which runs until March 14. He is also the deputy head of the Standing Committee of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress and head of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.

He suggested China's central government should reflect on and enhance the education and promotion of the Chinese mainland in Hong Kong to reduce misunderstanding, bias and hatred, especially among Hong Kong's younger generation.

In the year since the Guangdong pilot free trade zone was inaugurated, Guangdong, Zhang said, has been exploring legislation and policies, as well as building infrastructure.

"The Guangzhou government, and all members of society, are paying great attention to the zone and see it as a key sector for future development."

The Hengqin area of the Guangdong zone, neighboring Macao, has taken similar actions, Zhang, who has been to Hengqin, added.

Zhang also revealed that they are discussing the construction of a special district in the Nansha Area of the Guangdong pilot free trade zone with in-depth cooperation from Hong Kong, adopting open policies and regulations similar to those in Hong Kong.

"Old people in Hong Kong can come here to live and young people can start-up businesses here too."

Guangzhou has attracted some Hong Kong people to start businesses in the service, finance and innovation sectors, Zhang said.

It was rumored that China may approve more inland free trade pilot zones. Zhang was happy to hear that but remained conservative.

"We should not blindly chase a certain kind of thing. The Western countries established free trade zones, so we also built them. But do we know enough about their real contribution to the Chinese economy? The Western countries' economic models also have problems, which led to the financial crisis and debt crisis. We shouldn’t treat everything as a new treasure, we have to do additional surveys and research," Zhang said.

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