Chinese President Xi Jinping said Hong Kong had been “reborn of fire” as he arrived Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover, in his first visit since the business hub’s democracy movement was crushed.
Xi’s trip is a chance for the Chinese Communist Party to showcase its control after huge protests engulfed the city in 2019, prompting Beijing to impose a harsh crackdown.
“In the past period, Hong Kong has experienced more than one serious test, and overcome more than one risk and challenge,” Xi said after arriving at a high-speed train station in the heart of the city.
“After the storms, Hong Kong has been reborn of fire and emerged with robust vitality.”
Friday’s anniversary also marks the halfway point of the 50-year governance model agreed by Britain and China under which the city would keep some autonomy and freedoms.
Critics say a national security law imposed by Beijing after the 2019 protests has eviscerated those promised freedoms.
But Xi said Thursday “the facts have proved that One Country, Two Systems has great vitality.”
“It can guarantee long-term stability and prosperity in Hong Kong, and defend the well-being of Hong Kong people,” he added.
Xi’s visit is the first time he has left mainland China since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he was greeted at the station by school children waving flags and bouquets of flowers, as well as lion dancers and select accredited media.
Details around the trip have been kept tightly under wraps, and the visit has sparked a massive security effort.
Government leaders have been forced into an anti-COVID “closed-loop” system, parts of the city shut down, and multiple journalists barred from Friday’s events.
The Chinese leader will likely spend the night in neighbouring Shenzhen on the mainland.
Those coming into Xi’s orbit during the trip, including the highest-ranking government officials, have been made to limit their social contacts, take daily PCR tests and check into a quarantine hotel in the days leading up to the visit.
“To play safe, if we are going to meet the paramount leader and other leaders in close quarters, I think it is worthwhile to go into the closed-loop arrangements,” veteran pro-Beijing politician Regina Ip told AFP.