Beijing’s top man for Hong Kong says environment bureau work ‘recognised’
- Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong meets Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan in Beijing
Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has “recognised” the work of the city’s environment bureau as he met its chief in the capital, reminding him that many of his tasks were “matters of concern to the people”.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office released a photo of the Thursday afternoon meeting between Director Xia Baolong and Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan.
The meeting came 1½ months after the Hong Kong government shelved a controversial waste-charging scheme following 20 years of deliberations and delays.
Earlier in the day, Xia met Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok.
Hours after Thursday’s exchange, the Hong Kong government said: “Director Xia said that many tasks of the Environment and Ecology Bureau are matters of concern to the people, and he fully recognised the bureau’s work.”
Tse briefed Xia on the bureau’s progress on achieving carbon neutrality goals, green transition opportunities, environmental protection, ecological conservation, low-carbon energy, agricultural and fisheries development, environmental hygiene and food safety, according to the government.
He told Xia that Hong Kong could seize opportunities to complement its advantages with other Greater Bay Area cities, in order to jointly develop green energy and relevant industries. The bay area refers to Beijing’s plan to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine other southern Chinese cities into an economic powerhouse.
Tse was in Beijing attending the second High-level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development.
He also met Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu to discuss work on various ecological and environmental issues.
He later visited the National Energy Administration and met Deputy Director Ren Jingdong to exchange views on promoting energy cooperation between mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as supporting the city’s low-carbon energy transition.
