You're listening to a podcast from the BBC World Service.

This is Hard Talk with me, Zainab Badawi.

Thanks for downloading this edition of the program, and I hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Zainab Badawi in Hong Kong.

There are complaints here from pro-democracy campaigners that Beijing is increasing its control over the territory

in contravention of an agreement made when Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China in 1997.

My guest is Bernard Chan, a senior member of Hong Kong's Executive Council.

How much autonomy does Hong Kong really enjoy? And what does the

situation here tell us about the direction that China is moving in as a whole? Bernard Chan,

welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you. You got back recently from Beijing, where you were a delegate

at the National People's Congress. How does the leadership in Beijing view Hong Kong?

Well, obviously Hong Kong play a very important role for China, especially doing this whole

trade war tension. Hong Kong is a special administrative region. So we are China, but yet we

have a special status. We have a different trade agreements with the rest of the world.

So I think we play a very special purpose for them. And you have met President Xi Jinping multiple

times in groups discussing Hong Kong and other affairs. When he was vice president, he was in

charge of Hong Kong. You also knew him there.

What's his personal opinion of Hong Kong? Well, as I said, I mean, Hong Kong is a very special

place for China. And we are part of China, but yet we have the special status. We can do things

that perhaps the rest of China can do. We have the rule of law that the international investor would like to do

business with. So I think we have this very special status for China that I think it's not just

for the 8 million Hong Kong people, it's also served a purpose for their 1.3 billion Chinese.

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