China’s Xi Jinping says Hong Kong’s autonomy will be respected
The president made his vow ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Chinese Communist Party leader and President Xi Jinping has renewed his government’s commitment to allowing Hong Kong to manage its own affairs amid continuing anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Mr Xi made his remarks at a reception on the eve of a massive celebration of the People’s Republic’s 70th anniversary that threatens to be marred by clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators in Hong Kong.
Demonstrators and police clashed for a second straight day on Sunday in Hong Kong, sparking further chaos in the city’s business and shopping belt and drawing fears of more ugly scenes during the week-long National Day holiday.
“We will continue to fully and faithfully implement the principles of ‘One country, two systems’ (and) ‘Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong’,”
China’s approach is to ensure that Hong Kong and its fellow semi-autonomous region of Macao “prosper and progress alongside the mainland and embrace an even brighter future”, Mr Xi said.
The unusual move saw Mr Xi bow three times to Mao’s statue at his mausoleum in the centre of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and pay his respects to Mao’s embalmed corpse, which has lain in state in the hulking chamber since soon after his death in 1976.
It was believed to be the first visit to the mausoleum by Mr Xi and other officials since 2013, the 120th anniversary of Mao’s birth.
Mr Xi also ascended the nearby Monument to the People’s Heroes to pay further tribute on what has been designated Martyr’s Day, just ahead of Tuesday’s National Day festivities, which will be marked by a massive military parade through the centre of the city of 20 million people.
September 30 was designated Martyr’s Day by China’s legislature in 2014, a year after Mr Xi became president and began redoubling propaganda efforts to promote patriotism and glorify the party, as well as to cultivate a cult of personality surrounding himself unseen since the time of Mao.
The nationwide celebrations seek to highlight China’s enormous transformation from an impoverished state ravaged by Japan’s Second World War invasion and a following civil war into the world’s second-largest economy.
On Tuesday, Mr Xi is expected to preside from atop Tiananmen Gate over a parade that will display China’s rapidly developing arsenal, possibly including the nuclear-capable Dongfeng 41 missile that could reach the United States in 30 minutes.
Plans call for 15,000 troops, more than 160 aircraft and 580 pieces of military equipment to take part in the event.
The display of military prowess is seen as a way to underscore Beijing’s ambition to enforce claims to self-governing Taiwan, virtually the entire South China Sea and territory held by Japan.
The anniversary comes as China appears more stable than ever, 30 years after the party used its military to crush a pro-democracy movement centred on Tiananmen Square.
Mr Xi faces no serious political rivals and has brought the party to heel through a wide-ranging anti-corruption drive.
Last year, he cemented his role as China’s most powerful ruler of the modern era by amending the constitution to remove presidential term limits, sweeping away years of efforts to systematise leadership transitions and prevent the concentration of power in any one individual.
Beijing has responded with duties on American products, and the escalating trade war threatens the global economy.
The protracted unrest in Hong Kong, approaching four months, has meanwhile battered the city’s economy, with tourism plunging.
Many people view China as chipping away at the autonomy and freedoms Hong Kong was promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, while Beijing has accused the US and other foreign powers of fomenting the unrest in a bid to smear its reputation and weaken its control.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Mr Xi hailed China’s development achievements over the last seven decades, especially its success in largely wiping out absolute poverty.
He attributed those successes to the party’s leadership and called for absolute unity around the 90 million-member body to write a “more brilliant chapter” toward realising the Chinese Dream.
Mr Xi also touched on the issue of Taiwan, which China has vowed to annex by force if necessary.
Taiwan’s incorporation into China is “an inevitable trend” and “no one and no force can ever stop it”, Mr Xi said.
