Xi Jinping defends China’s clampdown in Hong Kong

CHINESE LEADERS rarely go to Hong Kong. Xi Jinping’s visit on June 30th and July 1st for official celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China was only his second since his rule began nearly a decade ago. It was his first since the territory was engulfed by pro-democracy unrest in 2019. Since then, he said after getting off his train, Hong Kong had “risen from the ashes”. In a speech the next day he said Hong Kong was entering a new period of “order and prosperity”. Groups of police patrolling quiet streets showed how this had been achieved.

Mr Xi’s previous trip, in 2017, was also to celebrate the anniversary of the territory’s handover. He clearly sensed then that trouble was afoot, warning that “any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government” or to “use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage against the mainland” would be considered “an act that touches the red line”. Hours after his departure thousands of people took to the streets to join a pro-democracy demonstration. Such protests had become a tradition in Hong Kong on July 1st, the date on which China resumed control.