Last week, all Legislative Council members traveled to Beijing for a study tour. The trip and activities were primarily organized and arranged by the National Academy of Governance (the Party School of the CPC Central Committee). The authoritative courses attended by the members included the legal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the centennial history of the Communist Party of China, the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s first five-year plan. They also visited the Longfusi historical and cultural district and the Beijing 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Center, deepening their appreciation of cultural conservation and grassroots work on the Chinese mainland.

This trip to Beijing by all LegCo members is an unprecedented initiative, demonstrating the central government’s emphasis on and trust of the LegCo. For most of the time after the return of the HKSAR to the motherland, anti-China elements within LegCo turned the council into a battleground for political struggle and a platform to challenge the central government’s authority, making it difficult to live up to the central government’s expectations for the council. After the central government intervened to rectify the situation, which worsened in 2019-20, the method of electing LegCo was thoroughly reformed, and “patriots administering Hong Kong” was fully realized.

The incumbent LegCo members, elected in 2025, are all patriots. The central government clearly has high expectations for the new LegCo, especially since many legislators possess rich professional knowledge and long-standing close ties with the mainland. The central government understandably expects them to have a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the international situation, national development, the central government’s major policies, and its policies toward Hong Kong, thereby better promoting Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the nation.

Undoubtedly, the central government regards LegCo as an important cradle for recruiting and cultivating political talent, and therefore hopes to enhance the political quality and governance capabilities of LegCo members in the long run through a rigorous and systematic training program

The central government also hopes that, after LegCo members gain a better understanding of the central government’s expectations for Hong Kong’s future development under the 15th Five-Year Plan, the SAR’s executive and legislative branches can better reach a consensus on the city’s future development and proactively cooperate in drafting its first five-year plan.

Undoubtedly, the central government regards LegCo as an important cradle for recruiting and cultivating political talent, and therefore hopes to enhance the political quality and governance capabilities of LegCo members in the long run through a rigorous and systematic training program.

Through the study tour, the legislators should have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of two major themes: “the paramountcy of the nation”, and “people-centered governance”. In the future, when considering Hong Kong issues, legislators will be better able to take into account the overall development of the nation, linking Hong Kong’s development with national development, breaking down the Hong Kong-centric thinking, and allowing Hong Kong to fully utilize its unique advantages under “one country, two systems” to contribute to the country. As representatives of the public opinion body, the legislators will be more dedicated to alleviating the concerns and difficulties of residents, fulfilling the requirement of “responding to the people’s needs”, thereby enhancing the prestige of LegCo, strengthening and broadening its mass base, and enhancing the legitimacy of “patriots administering Hong Kong”.

Following this study tour, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met and discussed with LegCo members who participated in the study tour. He encouraged them to strengthen unity, continue to perform their duties diligently, improve the governance effectiveness of the SAR, inject new momentum into Hong Kong’s development, and address the urgent needs and concerns of residents. The study tour will enable LegCo members to respond to Xia’s high expectations of legislators more earnestly.

In the long run, as the country is developing rapidly and the international environment it faces is constantly changing, holding training courses from time to time will help LegCo members better understand the overall national and international situation, how the central government responds to domestic and international challenges, and how Hong Kong can make unique contributions to the country’s changing development needs by leveraging the advantages conferred to the SAR by the “one country, two systems” framework.

The author is professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.