Hong Kong, June 29: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong Thursday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, but he faces a divided city, with many resentful of perceived interference by Beijing in its affairs.
Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula which guarantees wide-ranging autonomy and judicial independence not seen in mainland China.
The central government in Beijing has promised Hong Kong’s capitalist system will remain unchanged for “at least” 50 years until 2047, but it has not clarified what happens after that.
“Hong Kong has always tugged at my heartstrings,” Xi said on arrival on the airport tarmac before flag-waving crowds.
“… We are willing, together with different sectors of Hong Kong society, to look back on Hong Kong’s unusual course in the past 20 years, draw conclusions from the experience, look into the future and to ensure ‘one country, two systems’ is stable and has a far reaching future.”
Fears of the creeping influence of Communist Party leaders in Beijing have been highlighted in recent years by the abduction by mainland agents of some Hong Kong booksellers who specialised in politically sensitive material and Beijing’s efforts in disqualifying two pro-independence lawmakers elected to the city legislature.
Xi did not respond to journalists, including one who asked whether Liu Xiaobo, China’s Nobel Peace Laureate and jailed dissident, would be released and allowed to travel overseas to be treated for cancer.
An annual July 1 protest pressing social causes, including a call for full democracy, is expected to take place after Xi leaves Saturday. Last Wednesday night, police arrested pro-democracy protesters, some of whom scrambled up a monument symbolising the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.
Part of the major rift under Chinese rule in Hong Kong has been a push by activists, including massive street protests in 2014, to get China to live up to a constitutional promise under Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, to allow universal suffrage as an “ultimate aim”. Reuters
