Chinese President Hu Jintao (
The display of military force -- which also included helicopters and ships -- was just one of many events to pump up patriotic feelings ahead of today's celebration. The city also showed off a pair of cuddly pandas -- a special anniversary gift from Beijing -- and pop stars were to perform in an evening variety show.
Before Hu joined a dinner banquet at a luxury hotel, about 100 protesters demanding more democracy for Hong Kong tried to march to the venue, but they were stopped a few blocks away by a wall of police. Chanting "Power to the people!" and "Build a democratic China," the marchers tried to push their way through with little success.
Since the British left on July 1, 1997, China has tried to encourage people in Hong Kong to have a deeper feeling for the motherland and consider themselves Chinese citizens -- not "Hong Kongers" distinct from their mainland compatriots. To hammer home this point again, a fireworks show tonight was expected to spell out "Chinese people" in red pyrotechnics over the city's famous harbor.
But much more work needs to be done on the patriotic front, according to recent polls. A survey by the University of Hong Kong said last month that 55 percent of the respondents identified themselves as "Hong Kong citizens" or "Chinese Hong Kong citizens."
During a dinner speech, Hu urged the city leaders to focus more on patriotic education for the young. He said that all Hong Kongers "should unite under the banner of loving Hong Kong and loving the country to defend the country's interests."
Earlier yesterday, Hu visited a naval base and strolled past a long line of 800 officers and troops. As a marching band played, Hu yelled, "Comrades, you've been working hard!" and the men shouted back, "We serve the people!"
After arriving on Friday on his first presidential trip to Hong Kong, Hu played pingpong with a teenage champion and sipped tea with working-class families.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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