{"id":23957,"date":"2022-07-01T10:13:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T10:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=23957"},"modified":"2022-07-01T10:13:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T10:13:16","slug":"xi-jinping-hails-chinas-rule-over-hong-kong-on-25th-anniversary-of-handover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2022\/07\/01\/xi-jinping-hails-chinas-rule-over-hong-kong-on-25th-anniversary-of-handover\/","title":{"rendered":"Xi Jinping hails China\u2019s rule over Hong Kong on 25th anniversary of handover"},"content":{"rendered":"

Xi Jinping has hailed China\u2019s rule over Hong Kong as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city\u2019s handover from Britain, insisting democracy was flourishing despite a political crackdown that has silenced dissent.<\/p>\n

After swearing in a new hardline chief executive, John Lee, in a solemn ceremony on Friday morning, the Chinese president laid out his vision for the city and its administrators.<\/p>\n

On his first trip outside mainland China since the pandemic began, he vowed that \u201cone country, two systems\u201d \u2013 a governance model under which Hong Kong was promised it would retain some autonomy and freedoms for 50 years \u2013 would endure.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor this kind of good system, there is no reason to change it, it must be upheld for the long term,\u201d Xi said, as critics questioned whether the city\u2019s high level of autonomy was still intact.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter much turmoil, people have learned a painful lesson that Hong Kong cannot be disorderly, it cannot afford to be,\u201d he said. \u201cHong Kong is in a new phase from disorder to stability, from stability to prosperity\u201d.<\/p>\n

The past three years have seen an unprecedented unpicking of freedoms in Hong Kong as a result of the Beijing-imposed national security law. Scores of pro-democracy activists, journalists and opposition politicians have been jailed.<\/p>\n

Xi called on Hong Kong\u2019s residents to contribute to the \u201cgreat rejuvenation of the Chinese nation\u201d and insisted Beijing had always acted \u201cfor the good of Hong Kong\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lee, himself a former security minister, named key protests in the pro-democracy movement as challenges the city had overcome, while Xi said the introduction of national security legislation and its revamped \u201cpatriots-only\u201d electoral system safeguarded Hong Kong people\u2019s democratic rights.<\/p>\n

At the swearing-in ceremonies, all officials, including Xi, wore masks and stood at least one metre apart. They did not shake hands. Xi will return to mainland China on Friday afternoon, after having stayed less than 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a><\/div>
A police checkpoint outside the West Kowloon high-speed rail station before Xi Jinping\u2019s arrival.<\/span> Photograph: Anthony Kwan\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the highly choreographed ceremony began, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Beijing had failed to respect the \u201cone country, two systems\u201d arrangement agreed under the deal that ended British colonial rule in 1997.<\/p>\n

\n

Vowing not to \u201cgive up\u201d on Hong Kong, Johnson said: \u201cIt\u2019s a state of affairs that threatens both the rights and freedoms of Hongkongers and the continued progress and prosperity of their home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blinken said Friday was supposed to be the halfway mark of 50 years of promised autonomy under one country, two systems, \u201cyet it is now evident that Hong Kong and Beijing authorities no longer view democratic participation, fundamental freedoms, and an independent media as part of this vision\u201d.<\/p>\n

Saying a strict security law imposed in Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 had led to an \u201cerosion of autonomy\u201d, he said: \u201cWe stand in solidarity with people in Hong Kong and reinforce their calls for their promised freedoms to be reinstated.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/div>
A couple in Hong Kong at an exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of the former British colony\u2019s return to Chinese rule<\/span> Photograph: Kin Cheung\/AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Events to mark the anniversary of the handover began with a brief flag-raising ceremony at the Hong Kong convention and exhibition centre, a venue surrounded by huge police barricades. Previously, Hong Kong activists have rallied outside the ceremony but were warned by national security police not to protest this year.<\/p>\n

Security was tight across the city. Hong Kong police\u2019s counter-terrorism response unit was deployed in Wan Chai, accompanied by armoured vehicles.<\/p>\n

Officers also patrolled the area and conducted vehicle spot checks. Media personnel had to surrender their umbrellas before entering the events, as well as having their belongings searched and inspected. The item has been a symbol of the pro-democracy movement since 2014<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, members of the League of Social Democrats, an activist group, were told by police not to stage any protest on 1 July, after members were interviewed and had their homes searched.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s former chairman Avery Ng, said he spotted a team of plainclothes police outside his building, comparing the situation to a house arrest. \u201cObviously, this is very similar to what happens on the mainland, on significant days you will be \u2018invited\u2019 to keep quiet, or perhaps \u2018invited\u2019 to go on a trip,\u201d Ng said.<\/p>\n

Unprecedented scrutiny was also applied to journalists covering 1 July events. Only media selected by the government could physically attend the events. The Hong Kong Journalists Association said about 10 media workers from various outlets, including the South China Morning Post, were barred from the events due to \u201csecurity reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n

During the inauguration ceremony both Xi and Lee stressed the need for Hong Kong to attract foreign capital.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Xi told selected crowds in Hong Kong that the region had \u201crisen from the ashes\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Xi<\/a><\/div>
Xi (right) looks on as John Lee is sworn in as Hong Kong\u2019s leader.<\/span> Photograph: Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy heart and that of the central government have been with our compatriots in Hong Kong,\u201d he said, according to a translation by the South China Morning Post. \u201cIn the past few years, Hong Kong has gone through various severe challenges one after another, and has defeated them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the wind and rain, Hong Kong has risen from the ashes, and showed strong vibrancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee has pledged to unite the city for \u201ca new chapter\u201d, while also promising an even more aggressive approach to counter \u201cfearmongering and badmouthing\u201d by critics.<\/p>\n

Before Friday\u2019s events, Johnson said he would seek to continue to hold China to its commitments under the one country, two systems model, so that Hong Kong is \u201conce again run by the people of Hong Kong, for the people of Hong Kong\u201d. He said Britain\u2019s immigration route for holders of British national (overseas) passports last year had attracted 120,000 applications.<\/p>\n

The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, echoed Johnson\u2019s comments, and said: \u201cAuthorities have stifled opposition, criminalised dissent and driven out anyone who can speak truth to power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United Kingdom\u2019s historic commitment to Hong Kong and its people endures. That is why we continue to challenge China for breaching the legally binding commitments it signed up to under the joint declaration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australia also criticised China for restricting the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong. \u201cAustralia remains deeply concerned by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong\u2019s rights, freedoms and autonomy, two years since the imposition of the national security law,\u201d the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Xi Jinping has hailed China\u2019s rule over Hong Kong as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city\u2019s handover from Britain, insisting democracy was flourishing despite a political crackdown that has silenced dissent. After swearing in a new hardline chief executive, John Lee, in a solemn ceremony on Friday morning, the Chinese president laid out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[7603,7273,8311,11611,6975,1341,3347,6263,6044,5090,157,5307,5268,11583,7489,7421,9331,10484,11996,11606,913,6576,5345,2264,10598,3883,7359,6094,5205,1821,10342,3459,5840,7806,12287,7693,11973,5485,6703,421,11698,3805,3174,5561,8598,10716,5655,8840,5377,9151,146,3080,6348,1151,11622,3954,594,7898,8327],"class_list":["post-23957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-activist","tag-anthony","tag-antony-blinken","tag-applications","tag-arrest","tag-ashes","tag-australia","tag-beijing","tag-blinken","tag-boris","tag-boris-johnson","tag-britain","tag-british","tag-capital","tag-chairman","tag-chinese","tag-city","tag-convention","tag-crackdown","tag-democracy","tag-democratic","tag-democrats","tag-foreign-minister","tag-government","tag-homes","tag-hong-kong","tag-hong-kong-china","tag-immigration","tag-july","tag-kong","tag-law","tag-leader-xi-jinping","tag-liz-truss","tag-model","tag-movement","tag-national-security","tag-one","tag-pandemic","tag-penny-wong","tag-police","tag-politicians","tag-president","tag-prime-minister","tag-protest","tag-rail","tag-rain","tag-security","tag-strong","tag-surrender","tag-terrorism","tag-truth","tag-united-kingdom","tag-us","tag-us-secretary-of-state","tag-vision","tag-will","tag-who","tag-xi","tag-xi-jinping"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}