(Hong Kong) Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Hong Kong had managed to be “born again from the fire”, arriving in the city on Thursday for the 25e anniversary of the return of the territory during his first visit since the crushing of the democratic movement.
Posted at 6:01 p.m.
Xi’s trip is an opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party to show its control after the wave of pro-democracy protests that engulfed the city in 2019, prompting Beijing to impose a harsh political crackdown.
“During the past period, Hong Kong has experienced more than one serious ordeal and overcome more than one risk and challenge,” the Chinese president said after arriving on a high-speed train.
“After the storms, Hong Kong is reborn from the fire and emerges with robust vitality,” he added.
Friday’s anniversary also marks the midpoint of the ‘one country, two systems’ system of governance, named after the model agreed upon by Britain and China during the handover, under which the city should retain some autonomy until 2047.
“Facts have proven that the ‘one country, two systems’ principle is full of vitality,” Xi Jinping added Thursday.
“It can guarantee Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity and uphold the well-being of Hong Kong people.”
Critics say the national security law imposed in 2020 by Beijing after the 2019 protests shattered promised freedoms.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also deplored Thursday the “erosion of autonomy” caused by this law in the territory. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised not to “give up” Hong Kong.
” Closed circuit ”
The visit is the Chinese president’s first trip outside mainland China since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he was greeted at the station by schoolchildren waving flags and bouquets of flowers, as well as dancers dressed in lion costumes and some accredited media.
PHOTO XIE HUANCHI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Xi Jinping made the visit accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan.
Details of the trip were kept top secret and the visit prompted a massive security effort.
Hong Kong government leaders have been forced into a closed-loop system due to COVID-19. Parts of the city have been closed and many journalists have been barred from attending planned events. The moves illustrate the Chinese Communist Party’s control of the city after a wave of political repression that dismantled the democracy movement and crushed dissent.
The Chinese leader, however, is likely to spend the night in the nearby mainland city of Shenzhen, according to local media.
People who will be in Xi’s orbit during his trip, including top government officials, have been told to limit contact, undergo daily PCR tests and spend the days leading up to the visit in a quarantine hotel.
demonstration of patriotism
Authorities have taken steps to eliminate any potential source of embarrassment during Xi Jinping’s stay. National Security Police arrested at least nine people last week.
PHOTO KIN CHEUNG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Xi Jinping moved in an imposing convoy.
The League of Social Democrats (LSD), one of Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition political parties, said it would not demonstrate on 1er July, after an exchange between national security agents and volunteers associated with the group.
LSD leaders told AFP their homes were searched and they also had conversations with police.
Chan Po-ying, chairwoman of the group, said she felt like she was being followed and watched over the past few days.
Hong Kong’s leading pollster said it would delay releasing the results of a government popularity survey “in response to suggestions from relevant government departments after their risk assessment”.
The anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong by Britain to China, the 1er July 1997, has long been the occasion for vast peaceful demonstrations in the streets of the city.
But under the combined effect of health restrictions and the crackdown, mass gatherings have all but disappeared in Hong Kong in recent years.
Media coverage of Xi Jinping’s visit was strictly limited. On Wednesday, AFP confirmed that 13 local and international journalists had been denied accreditation to cover the handover celebrations.
Two AFP journalists were among those denied accreditation, a government official citing unspecified “security reasons”. A third AFP reporter then obtained accreditation.