Chinese president Xi Jinping presided over the 25th anniversary celebrations of the city’s handover from Britain and said he sees no reason to change the One Country, Two Systems model under which Hong Kong is governed.
Xi also presided over the inauguration of Hong Kong’s new government, which will be led by John Lee, who helped Beijing clamp down on pro-democracy protests earlier in 2019.
Xi said the democracy in Hong Kong was flourishing, ignoring the effects of the national security law introduced by Beijing which saw the imprisonment of several pro-democracy activists since 2020.
Many of them also have fled the country.
Xi reiterated that Beijing has the best interests at its heart for Hong Kong. “After reuniting with the motherland, Hong Kong’s people became the masters of their own city. Hong Kong’s true democracy started from here,” Xi Jinping was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
“(Hong Kong) has no reason at all to change and it must be upheld in the long run. It (safeguards) the country’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” he further added.
Since 1997, Hong Kong has held parallel marches by citizens on July 1 during the handover anniversary celebrations where they highlighted their grievances and woes with the city’s administration, peacefully alongside the celebrations.
The imposition of the national security law and the presence of Xi meant it was no longer possible to do so.
A flag-raising ceremony at the city’s Victoria Harbor, a flypast and a flotilla spraying plumes of water marked the 25th anniversary of the handover.
The city was decorated with Chinese flags and also Hong Kong flags, but smaller. The display of China’s control as well as its insecurity was in full display in the Victoria Park stadium.
The football ground was a location for pro-democracy protesters but on Friday the two flags – a massive China flag and a smaller Hong Kong flag – occupied both halves of the pitch.
Xi himself did not stay in Hong Kong the entire night. He was in Shenzhen and only traveled to Hong Kong in the morning.
But ahead of the visit, nine arrests were made.
More than 10 members and volunteers of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) were warned against protesting by the police.
Six LSD members’ houses were searched.
Media coverage of the events were restricted and some parts of the city were closed off.
Xi’s visit meant the city too would be put under the throes of Covid Zero protocol. Schoolchildren who were to accompany Xi, along with highest-ranking government officials, were forced to quarantine, limit their contacts, undergo daily RT-PCR tests and isolate inside hotels assigned to them.
The infamous tightly monitored closed loop system of the Winter Olympics, Beijing was put in place.
The Chinese state-run media also covered Xi’s trip – his first time traveling outside China following the Covid-19 pandemic – with much fanfare.
Photos of his arrival in Hong Kong splashed across front pages of Beijing media while a pro-Beijing publication from Hong Kong ran bumper editions full of advertisements, with the longest running to 188 pages, news agency AFP reported.
(with inputs from AFP)
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