President Xi Jinping yesterday opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of engineering carrying immense economic and political significance, while the Macau Chief Executive (CE) used the occasion as evidence that the ‘One country, two systems’ policy is working. The bridge will open to traffic at 9 a.m. today.
At about 10 a.m. yesterday Xi walked up to the podium installed in the city of Zhuhai and announced the opening of the 55-kilometer-long bridge. After the ceremony, Xi rode in a vehicle to tour and inspect the bridge.
During the inspection, Xi ascended on a platform to overlook the bridge at the east artificial island, which is a key part of the bridge. Praising builders of the bridge for breaking a number of world records, Xi said they demonstrate the nation’s spirit of striving to overcome any difficulties, the national strength, the innovative ability, and the aspiration to be the world’s best.
“You participated in the design, building, and maintenance of the bridge, gave full play to your talents and wisdom, and accomplished the tasks with good quality and quantity,” Xi said. “With the bridge, we have further enhanced our confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” he said.
In his speech, Xi said that the bridge should strengthen the Greater Bay Area and promote economic development in its three regions [Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong]. He stressed that the bridge is important for supporting Hong Kong and Macau in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country
A 140-member Macau delegation also joined yesterday’s ceremony in Zhuhai. The delegation included principal officials of the Macau SAR government and people from the local community. Several officials from the delegation joined President Xi on a tour of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, following the opening ceremony.
Macau Chief Executive Chui Sai On was invited to speak at the ceremony. He commended the sea bridge in the Pearl River Delta as a way to facilitate Macau’s contributions toward the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road initiative.
He also said the advent of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – the first direct-line road link connecting the three places – had significant influence in terms of politics, economics, and its likely effect on society. Moreover, the close communication between the three governments in building the bridge demonstrated the successful implementation of the “One country, two systems” principle.
The USD20 billion bridge took almost a decade to build while incurring major delays and cost overruns. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China’s crucial manufacturing sector.
Its opening will cut travel time across the delta from several hours to just 30 minutes, something China hopes will bind the region together as a major driver of future economic growth. Heavily regulated traffic using permits issued under a quota system will begin flowing today.
The bridge forms a physical link between the mainland and Hong Kong, a financial hub that was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997 with the assurance it would maintain its own legal and economic system for 50 years.
That carries major political significance for Xi’s administration, which has rejected calls for political liberalization in Hong Kong, sparking fears Beijing will clamp down further on civil liberties before the end of the “one country, two systems” arrangement in 2047.
The bridge’s opening also comes a month after the inauguration of a new high-speed rail link from Hong Kong to mainland China that runs along a different, shorter route. That line has vastly decreased travel times but also raised concerns about Beijing’s growing influence because mainland Chinese law applies within part of the line’s Hong Kong terminus.
To Claudia Mo, a Hong Kong democratic politician, the bridge’s political significance outweighs its practical usefulness.
“It’s not exactly necessary, because Hong Kong is connected to mainland China in every way already, by land, by air, by sea,” Mo told The Associated Press.
“But they still need it as a political symbol or icon to remind Hong Kong people […] that you are connected to the motherland, with this very grand bridge. It’s almost like an umbilical cord.”
In Zhuhai, however, sentiments revolved around economic growth and national pride.
Airline pilot Liu Gang said he’d been eagerly anticipating the opening of the bridge, calling it a symbol of the mainland’s increasingly close ties with Hong Kong and Macau. “It’ll bring us even closer together, make us more flexible, economically and in many other ways. We’re now one family,” Liu said.
Luo Fengzhi, who works in real estate, cited the bridge as evidence of China’s growing economic and engineering prowess. “For Chinese people, this makes them feel proud,” she said. “I hope that every patriotic Chinese person can come and see this great feat of engineering, and I welcome foreigners to come and see for themselves as well.” MDT/Agencies
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