He is expected to spend two days at the financial center and attend a series of official events to mark both the July 1 broadcast and the inauguration ceremony of the city’s next leader, appointed by Beijing, John Lee, a former police officer. and chief of security.
In the nearly 900 days since Xi last left the continent on January 17, 2020, his diplomatic activities have been limited to virtual summits and videoconferences, making his trip to Hong Kong particularly important.
He arrived in the city on Thursday afternoon on a high-speed train from the Chinese border town of Shenzhen, after which he was greeted by a large crowd waving national flags and chanting in unison, “Welcome, welcome, warm welcome.”
He was then led across the red carpet as colorful lion dancers performed, adding to the noise of drums, chanting, and trumpets.
He was greeted for the first time by his outgoing Hong Kong CEO Kari Lam and her senior officials. After exchanging a few words, Xi and his delegation slowly made their way through the station, waving to the crowd and talking to other officials present.
“More than five years have passed since my last visit to Hong Kong. For the last five years, I have been paying a lot of attention to Hong Kong and being interested in it,” Xi said in a short speech afterwards.
“Over the last few years, Hong Kong has endured one ordeal after another and overcome one risk and challenge after another. After enduring the storms, Hong Kong has emerged from the ashes with energetic vitality.”
Leaving the Covid balloon
Xi’s arrival coincides with forecasts for a typhoon with strong winds and rain, and comes after weeks of uncertainty as to whether he would risk leaving the strict zero-Covid bubble in mainland China to travel to a city that now reports more than 1,000 new cases. Covid’s day. During Xi’s time, China stood isolated from the world in pursuit of a zero-tolerance approach to the virus, with the country’s international borders closed and travel severely restricted. He reaffirmed his policy on Wednesday during a symbolic visit to Wuhan, China’s central city, where the virus first appeared in late 2019, saying he would rather “temporarily sacrifice some economic growth” than “harm of human health “, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
“If we calculate the total costs and benefits, our Covid policies are the most economical and effective,” Xi said, adding that China has the ability to continue its approach with zero Covid “until the final victory.”
Although Hong Kong is heavily influenced by Beijing’s uncompromising health policies, strict quarantine and border controls, and imposed social distancing measures, it has so far avoided the kind of prolonged city-wide blockade or mandatory mass tests seen in mainland cities such as Shanghai and Xi’an.
Prior to Xi’s visit, Hong Kong imposed a number of restrictions on Covid. Since last week, senior officials have been banned from attending public events and have been restricted from using personal vehicles when traveling to work. They have also been tested daily for Covid and must spend Thursday night in a quarantined hotel before Friday’s handover ceremony.
Arrival in a changed city
The last time Xi visited Hong Kong to mark the show was in 2017, on the 20th anniversary, when he was greeted with streets full of pro-democracy protesters.
But no protests are expected this year. Most pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong fell apart after the city’s comprehensive national security law was passed two years ago.
Following the ensuing repression, almost all of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy figures, including activists and politicians, were either imprisoned or forced into exile.
According to police, none of the other organizations applied for permission to hold peaceful protests during Xi’s trip. The League of Social Democrats, one of the few surviving pro-democracy political parties, said it would not hold protests after several members met with national security police.
The Hong Kong government has repeatedly defended the national security law, saying it had restored order in the city, which had been shaken by pro-democracy and anti-government protests in 2019.
Seats are closed, no-fly zone
Without risking, police stepped up security and closed areas near key locations. Pedestrian bridges, highways and a train station in some of Hong Kong’s busiest areas were temporarily closed for Thursday and Friday.
A no-fly zone has also been set up in the city’s port, and the use of drones is restricted during a visit to Xi.
Authorities also severely restricted media access to the celebrations for the show, which is far from the open environment for reporting and free local press of previous years.
According to the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA), at least 10 journalists working for local and international organizations have received requests to cover events rejected for “security reasons”.
“As the media cannot send journalists on the spot, HKJA deeply regrets the strict reporting arrangements made by the authorities for such a major event,” the press group said on Tuesday.
CNN’s Kathleen Magramo contributed to the report.
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