President Xi Jinping speaks during a televised news conference in Hong Kong on Thursday. Credit… Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
As Xi Jinping, China’s leader, visits Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of the handover from Britain, he arrives in a city greatly transformed since three years ago, when millions took to the streets in the biggest challenge to Beijing’s rule for decades.
Mr. Xi’s ruling Communist Party quashed that challenge by tightening its grip. Authorities arrested thousands of protesters and activists, imposed a national security law that silenced dissent, and rewrote election rules to keep critics of Beijing out.
“This is an important trip for him,” said John P. Burns, professor emeritus of politics at the University of Hong Kong. “Of course, it’s about celebrating the 25th anniversary and all that, but he’s also declaring victory over the pan-democratic opposition and its supporters.”
On Friday, Mr. Xi named a personally handpicked former security official as the city’s next leader. He earlier met with lawmakers elected after Beijing’s electoral reform that ensures only “patriots” can hold office in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and Chinese officials attended a brief ceremony on Friday morning in which a police honor guard raised the flags of China and Hong Kong to mark the anniversary. A strong wind was blowing, and the sky was overcast and threatening to rain. A government helicopter flying a large Chinese flag, followed by another flying a smaller Hong Kong flag, flew down Victoria Harbor as the ceremony took place at 8am, followed by a fire brigade boat spraying water from its hoses.
But the pomp and ceremony was a stark contrast to the relative quiet of the streets under a heavy security presence. Squads of police patrolled the neighborhoods near the ceremony site, and lines of police vans were lined up at the entrances of several subway stations. For many Hong Kongers, the anniversary of the handover and Mr. Xi’s visit meant little more than a day off.
“The central government should not do much for Hong Kong. Just let Hong Kong sort itself out. It’s a free economy, right? Before, it wasn’t much managed,” said Joson Kwak, a 33-year-old interior design contractor who was in the Wanchai district for breakfast. “I don’t feel anything special today. I’m glad I don’t have to go to work today.”
Mr. Xi’s visit is as much a message designed to reinforce Beijing’s rule over Hong Kong to the city’s 7.5 million residents as it is a message of defiance to Western governments that have condemned its crackdown. The United States, Britain and other nations have accused China of breaking promises to let Hong Kong retain its protections for individual rights for 50 years under an agreement known as one country, two systems.
Hong Kong’s subjugation also has a personal meaning for Mr Xi. It will help burnish his standing among the Communist Party elite at a key time as he seeks a third five-year term in office, which he is expected to receive later this year.
“We can expect at the party congress in October that he will emphasize the success of one country, two systems,” said Sonny Lo, a Hong Kong political commentator.
For local activists, July 1 is the anniversary of the main demonstrations. But a combination of pandemic restrictions and political repression has largely eliminated such gatherings. One left-wing group, the League of Social Democrats, continued to mark important dates with small demonstrations of just four people, which is technically allowed under social distancing rules.
But after visits from national security police, the group announced this week that it would not hold a protest on Friday. The group’s members were under constant surveillance and their organization was threatened with closure if they attempted to demonstrate, said Avery Ng, the group’s general secretary.
“It’s just like China,” he said.
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