Hong Kong | There is no reason to change Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” government formula, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday on a rare visit to the global financial center after swearing in the city’s new leader. John Lee, Friday.
Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, with Beijing promising broad autonomy, unlimited individual rights, and judicial independence at least until 2047.
Critics of China, including Western nations, accuse the authorities of trampling on these freedoms with a comprehensive national security law imposed by Beijing on the city in 2020 following the massive pro-democracy protests the previous year.
China and Hong Kong reject the allegations, saying the law “restored the order of chaos” so that the city can prosper.
Xi said the security law was beneficial to the “democratic rights” of city residents and that the “one country, two systems” formula will remain in place.
“For this kind of good system, there is no reason to change it. It has to be maintained in the long run,” Xi said.
At the swearing-in ceremonies, all officials, including Xi, wore masks and parted at least a meter apart. They did not shake hands.
Former security chief Lee, who is sanctioned by the United States for his role in implementing the security law, takes charge at a time when the city is facing an exodus of people and talent amid some of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in the world.
Authorities deployed a massive security force, blocking roads and airspace around the picturesque Victoria Harbor, where the last colonial governor, Chris Patten, returned with tears to Hong Kong in China in a ceremony bathed by the rain in 1997.
Red lanterns and signs declaring a “new era” of stability decorated the main roads and walkways near the convention center
Xi did not attend the traditional flag-raising ceremonies on Friday, and media reported that he spent the night on the other side of the border in Shenzhen after arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Xi’s trip to Hong Kong is his first since 2017, when he swore in the city’s first female leader, Carrie Lam, who oversaw some of the territory’s most tumultuous moments, marked by anti-government protests in 2019 and the pandemic. of COVID.
Five years ago, Xi stayed in Hong Kong during his trip. His whereabouts overnight this time, and the reasons why he may have chosen Shenzhen, have not been officially confirmed.
Hong Kong reported more than 2,000 daily cases of COVID on Thursday, levels that would lead to very strict restrictions in any mainland city. China is the only one among the major countries that has decided to eliminate any outbreak as soon as it occurs at any cost.