Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Hong Kong next week to mark 20 years since the territory was handed back to China by Britain, local media said, in a visit that will be incendiary to pro-democracy advocates in the territory.
Although widely expected, officials have not said whether Xi will make the trip, his first to Hong Kong since becoming president in 2013.
The South China Morning Post yesterday reported for the first time that Xi’s visit had been “confirmed,” citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the visit.
Photo: AP
It comes at a time when Beijing stands accused of squeezing the semi-autonomous territory’s freedoms and frustrations have led to the emergence of a new independence movement calling for Hong Kong to break from China.
Protesters said they are preparing to gather during the celebrations and Xi’s visit would be shrouded in a huge security operation.
His itinerary includes touring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army garrison in central Hong Kong, as well as visiting an infrastructure project, the newspaper said.
He is to arrive on Thursday with his wife, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛) and stay until Saturday July 1, the handover anniversary date, when he is to inaugurate the territory’s chief executive-elect Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥), the report added.
Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” deal designed to protect the territory’s freedoms and way of life for 50 years.
However, a number of incidents, including the disqualification from the Hong Kong Legislative Council of two pro-independence lawmakers and the alleged abduction of five Hong Kong booksellers, have raised fears that Beijing is trampling the agreement.
A Chinese government spokesman yesterday told reporters there was still no official confirmation that Xi would visit.
Political analyst Willy Lam (林和立) said there might be “ugly scenes” if he does.
“The fact that the head of the [Chinese Communist] party and the army is in Hong Kong I think will enhance people’s impression that Beijing really means business,” said Lam, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “This is a symbol of the fact that in ‘one country, two systems,’ the one country is towering over the two systems.”
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