
Xi Hails Hong Kong’s “Rising From The Ashes” In 1st Visit Since Pro-Democracy Crackdown
Xi Hails Hong Kong’s “Rising From The Ashes” In 1st Visit Since Pro-Democracy Crackdown President Xi Jinping on Friday wrapped up a two-day visit to to Hong Kong which marked the city’s 25th anniversary of its turn to Chinese rule by giving a speech seen as a “vigorous endorsement” of the ‘one country, two systems’ constitutional principle. He also took the opportunity to praise outgoing leader Carrie Lam for her efforts to “stop violence and chaos, fight the pandemic with full force, integrate with the country’s development plan and safeguard national sovereignty, security, development interests and Hong Kong stability.” China’s President Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and ‘risen from the ashes,’ as he visited the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule https://t.co/NhKKvp69r5 pic.twitter.com/9BjNiq6q3f — Reuters (@Reuters) June 30, 2022 In reality this included a severe cracking down on what were on occasion violent or destructive pro-independence protests, but more importantly the unprecedented imposition of the national security law which essentially criminalized the opposition protest movement, and imposed sweeping censorship on film, media, and school curriculum. Xi stepped out to a red carpet and was greeted in a massive security presence environment by a very regulated, restricted group of people waiving at him upon arriving on a high-speed rail train this week, which marked his first visit to the island in two-and-a-half years. As South China Morning Post described of Xi’s arrival: On Thursday, in a brief arrival speech, the president described Hong Kong as having “risen from the ashes” after overcoming various severe challenges since his last visit in 2017, which proved that “one country, two systems is a good system”. Getty Images Significantly, the short trip also marked the first time Xi has traveled outside the mainland