Carrie Lam to make unexpected Beijing visit

Chief Executive Carrie Lam in Nanjing on Saturday. Photo: GIS

Chief Executive Carrie Lam is to visit Beijing for talks with senior officials next week, in a brief trip announced with just two days' notice.



The government said on Sunday that Lam would head to the capital on Tuesday at the conclusion of a trip to Shanghai and Nanjing. Her agenda there includes talks on Wednesday with Vice-Premier Han Zheng and a meeting of the group that is discussing the central governments vision for the Greater Bay Area.



Lam will be accompanied by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip. She will return to Hong Kong on Thursday.



The visit comes days after the conclusion of a four-day plenum of the Communist Party, at which the SAR's stability was reportedly a key topic for discussion.



Beijing is planning to change the Chief Executive election mechanism in Hong Kong and has vowed to "improve the legal system" of the SAR to "safeguard national security", according to the director of the Hong Kong, Macau and Basic Law Commission, Shen Chunyao