Newsman: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday defended the “one country, two systems” form of governance in Hong Kong .
In a rare visit to the Chinese territory in Hong Kong Chinese President swear its handpicked new leader, John Lee, as the former British colony marks 25 years since its return to Chinese rule. The trip, Xi’s first outside mainland China since January 2020.
Chinese leader Xi said there was no reason to change the “one country, two systems” principle, which was designed to give Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy after the 1997 handover.
“Having gone through ups and downs, people have learned the hard way that Hong Kong cannot be destabilized and cannot afford to seek chaos,” Xi said, avoiding any direct mention of the large-scale antigovernment protests that captured global attention for much of 2019.
While the city must be run by “patriots,” Xi said, it must also maintain its unique status and strengths, including as an international financial, shipping and aviation hub. That status has been challenged during the coronavirus pandemic by “zero-Covid” restrictions that have kept Hong Kong and mainland China largely cut off from the world.
Hong Kong has undergone seismic change since Xi’s last visit in 2017, when he warned against any challenge to Chinese sovereignty. Two years later, the city was convulsed by months of pro-democracy protests that sometimes turned violent, with some protesters calling for Hong Kong independence.
Beijing responded by imposing the national security law, saying it was necessary to restore order. Since then, almost 200 people have been arrested on charges of subversion, secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces, including journalists and many of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures. Multiple pro-democracy news outlets have shut down, and the local legislature now lacks any pro-democracy opposition.
The crackdown in Hong Kong has been widely condemned internationally, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on Thursday for Hong Kongers’ “promised freedoms to be reinstated.”
Police were out in force for Xi’s visit to the city of 7.4 million, where posters celebrating the 25th anniversary of the handover declare a “new era” of stability. Media coverage of the anniversary events, which had already excluded multiple outlets, was further restricted this week when at least 10 journalists applying to cover them for local and international media were rejected for “security reasons.”
John Lee, who was Hong Kong’s security secretary during the 2019 protests, is among several top Hong Kong officials sanctioned by the U.S. over their roles in implementing the national security law.
Lee also praised “one country, two systems,” and said he would “strive to build a more caring and more inclusive Hong Kong full of vibrancy, hope and development opportunities.”
Unlike in 2017, when tens of thousands of demonstrators marched during Xi’s visit in an annual July 1 tradition that dated back to the handover, the streets were quiet with scattered civilians, some carrying multiple Chinese flags and wearing red masks in a patriotic fervor.
