BEIJING _ China announced a new top liaison official for Hong Kong, replacing the former director amid months of protests in the financial hub.
Luo Huining will take over from Wang Zhimin as the Hong Kong liaison office director, the government said in a two-sentence statement that didn't elaborate on the changes. Wang was former director of China's liaison office in Macau before he was appointed the top representative in Hong Kong in 2017.
Hong Kong has been gripped by more than six months of often-violent protests by activists demanding greater autonomy from Beijing. China's government has consistently backed Chief Executive Carrie Lam, including on a visit to Beijing she made to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-December.
Wang last month didn't respond to a Reuters report that he could be replaced.
"Me, my team and colleagues in the China Liaison office will continue to perform faithfully the duties granted by the central government," Wang said then. The liaison office will also firmly support Hong Kong's police in strictly enforcing the law, and the judiciary in punishing violent crimes in accordance with rules, he said.
Lam's administration proposed a bill last year that would allow extraditions to China for the first time. While she has since withdrawn the legislation, she refused to meet additional demands including an independent inquiry into police violence and direct leadership elections.
Xi used his New Year's Eve address to defend China's system for running Hong Kong, in an unusually high-profile acknowledgment of the Asian financial center's political turmoil.
"Without a harmonious and stable environment, how can people live in peace and enjoy their work?" Xi asked. "I sincerely wish Hong Kong well. Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is the wish of Hong Kong compatriots and the expectation of our motherland."
