A memorial meeting for Jiang Zemin, who passed away on Nov 30 at the age of 96, is held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Dec 6, 2022. (DING HAITAO / XINHUA)
HONG KONG – Hong Kong and Macao joined the nation on Tuesday in expressing condolences over the passing of former president Jiang Zemin, who died in Shanghai on Nov 30 at the age of 96.
A memorial service for the former leader began in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing at 10 am on Tuesday, and was broadcast live to residents of the two regions.
Hong Kong and Macao, from top down, watched the live broadcast of the memorial service and observed the three-minute silence in sync with those at the memorial service in the capital. Government officials, civil servants, liaison offices, universities and legislatures of the two cities joined with mourners across the nation. Drivers of government vessels in the two cities also honked their horns simultaneously in tribute to Jiang as the nation observed the three-minute silence.
READ MORE: Memorial meeting held to mourn Jiang Zemin
All government staff of the Hong Kong and Macao SARs observed the period of silence as residents of the two cities gathered to watch the live broadcast of the service.
Jiang, who will go down in history for his achievements, thoughts and charisma, will be sorely missed by the people, said John Lee
The national flag and HKSAR flag were flown at half-mast at all SAR government buildings in the territory. The government also cancelled or postponed all entertainment and celebration activities that had been officially organized or funded.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and members of the Executive Council watched the live broadcast of the memorial service and observed a moment’s silence ahead of the weekly council meeting on Tuesday morning. The media session before the meeting was also suspended.
In a post on social media, Lee said Jiang’s passing is a loss beyond measure to the country.
Noting Jiang's great contributions to realizing the smooth return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, Lee pledged to push forward with achieving the lofty goal set by Jiang — as remarked by President Xi Jinping at Jiang's memorial service — and make every effort to fully and accurately implement the "one country, two systems" principle to ensure the longterm stability and prosperity of Hong Kong.
Jiang, who will go down in history for his achievements, thoughts and charisma, will be sorely missed by the people, Lee said.
READ MORE: Passing of Jiang ‘loss beyond measure to country’, says Lee
Members of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR observe a three-minute silence on Dec 6, 2022 to pay tribute to Jiang Zemin who passed away on Nov 30. They watched the live broadcast of the memorial service held for Jiang in Beijing. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
Members of the HKSAR Legislative Council watched the service in the LegCo complex and stood in silence; all visits to LegCo were rescheduled and construction works at the complex were suspended.
Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, president of the Legislative Council, said Jiang visited Hong Kong on several occasions and cared greatly for the city, paving the way for "one country, two systems".
Staff at the Judiciary also observed the three-minute silence, while courts suspended hearings during those moments. Court sessions due to start at 10 am resumed after the silence.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing stopped displaying Hang Seng Index and other data on its outdoor screens at Exchange Square in Central as HKEX Chief Executive Nicolas Aguzin led senior executives in observing the three-minute silence in the HKEX Connect Hall.
A live broadcast of the memorial service was also televised at the various university campuses of the two SARs, including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Education University of Hong Kong. Some secondary schools in the cities, including Hou Kong Middle School in Macao, made similar arrangements to enable students to mourn the former leader’s passing.
Contact the writers at stushadow@chinadailyhk.com