Beijing University law professor Zhang Qianfan said Thursday he believes there is “no need” for the central government to issue a white paper on Macau’s political situation and development.
He made the comment at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) on the sidelines of a seminar about the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, saying that Beijing’s relationship with Macau is “relatively good”, namely compared with Hong Kong.
Zhang’s remark came after Beijing issued a white paper on Hong Kong political past, present and future earlier this month. The South China Morning Post recently quoted an unnamed source as saying that the central government would release a white paper on Macau as well.
The academic said that the political debate in Hong Kong had been intense and he indicated it was no surprise that the central government issued the white paper. “The [central] government would only do this when they think it is really needed,” said Zhang, adding that such a measure would be unnecessary for Macau.
Shenzhen University law professor Zou Pinxue said on the sidelines of the seminar the that some Hong Kong people’s political demands had gone beyond what is accepted by the central government on what it means to enjoy a high degree of autonomy.(macaunews/macaupost)
