【明報專訊】Zheng Yanxiong, former director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the central government in Hong Kong, succeeded Luo Huining and officially assumed the post as the director of the Liaison Office yesterday (16 January). Generally speaking, past directors of the Liaison Office have had close ties to Hong Kong. Parachuted into the post three years ago, Luo can be described as an outlier, reflecting the central government's view that it needed to send a heavyweight to Hong Kong to "stop violence and curb chaos" and rebuild the "top-level structure". As Hong Kong moves towards the "transition from order to prosperity", the role of the Liaison Office is expected to become more functional.