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Matthew Cheng

A veteran mainland Chinese economic crime investigator and former police official has been appointed to lead the discipline inspection and supervision group at Beijing’s top office overseeing Hong Kong affairs.
Hua Liebing, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s economic crime investigation bureau, fills the vacancy at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) left by Geng Changyou, who stepped down last year to become secretary of Hebei province’s Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The new appointment was revealed on Tuesday when the office updated its organisation chart on its website.
It marked another change in the office’s top ranks following the selection of Zhang Dongmei, a former vice-president of the All-China Women’s Federation, as a deputy director in March.
Hua’s appointment brings the HKMAO’s senior leadership to seven members. They include Xia Baolong, who has led the office since 2020, and deputy director Zhou Ji, who also serves as the director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong.
The appointment came a day after a meeting of the HKMAO’s leading group for Communist Party building, which was also attended by members of the discipline inspection and supervision group.
According to the HKMAO, the meeting stressed the importance of safeguarding national security, which would also help ensure the steady implementation of the “one country, two systems” governing principle.
The office pledged to focus on resolving the challenges facing Hong Kong and Macau, support their integration into – and service to – national development, and to promote their long-term prosperity and stability.
The office added that it would continue to build a high-performing team on Hong Kong and Macau affairs which would prioritise solid work and performance.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said the appointment and the meeting reflected the message delivered by President Xi Jinping on the 105th anniversary of the party’s founding in July, in which he stressed discipline and political loyalty.
Following the HKMAO’s elevation in 2023 to a unit reporting directly to the party’s central leadership, Beijing had set higher expectations for the office, and the latest moves were primarily aimed at improving the quality of its work, Lau said.
“As Hong Kong and Macau affairs are now under the party’s leadership, the requirements for HKMAO personnel in terms of ability, morality, conduct and ideology will be stricter, so as to ensure that the one country, two systems principle is implemented more effectively,” he said.
“This is mainly in response to President Xi’s call to exercise full and strict governance over the party. It is not because something has happened in Hong Kong or within the HKMAO.”
Born in Jiangsu province in 1967 and a history graduate from Shandong University, 59-year-old Hua has no known previous experience in Hong Kong affairs.
Before taking charge of the Public Security Ministry’s economic crime investigation bureau in 2023, he served as deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau from 2020. Prior to that, he led the bureau’s legal affairs corps.
During his tenure in Beijing, he established the country’s first law enforcement and case management centre to centralise and supervise case handling. He also contributed to the development of smart policing in the capital.
Hua has also been described as a legal scholar. He has served as deputy director of the Beijing Law Society, an instructor at the People’s Public Security University of China, and a supervisor for master’s students in law at Renmin University of China.

In May this year, Hua took part in the long-running operation “Fox Hunt”, which has led to the arrest of more than 880 fugitives who had fled abroad after committing economic crimes, including 38 under Interpol red notices.
A red notice is a request sent by Interpol to its member countries worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
The operation also solved 128,000 economic crime cases nationwide, recovering 37.5 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) in losses.


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Hua Liebing’s appointment fills vacancy left last year and marks another change in HKMAO’s top ranks


Hua Liebing’s appointment fills vacancy left last year and marks another change in HKMAO’s top ranks.


Former economic crime chief to head discipline team at Hong Kong, Macau office

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hua Liebing’s appointment fills vacancy left last year and marks another change in HKMAO’s top ranks

Hua Liebing’s appointment fills vacancy left last year and marks another change in HKMAO’s top ranks