China swears in Hong Kong’s new chief — RT World Information
President Xi Jinping led a swearing-in ceremony as China marked the twenty fifth anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British rule
Chinese language President Xi Jinping has sworn in Hong Kong’s new chief government – John Lee, a former safety official – making his first journey exterior the mainland for the reason that coronavirus pandemic kicked off 2019.
Lee delivered his inaugural tackle after being formally sworn in on Friday, vowing to spice up the territory’s financial system and enhance its picture overseas.
The brand new authorities “will improve Hong Kong’s competitiveness and develop the financial system,” he mentioned, including that “Emphasis can be placed on the event of Hong Kong into a global innovation and know-how hub, leveraging and mixing the respective strengths of Hong Kong and the Mainland.”
Although Xi didn’t attend a conventional flag-raising occasion to mark the event, he officiated the swearing-in ceremony after arriving in Hong Kong sooner or later prior. The president has not left mainland China since 2019, and his final journey to Hong Kong got here in 2017, when he swore within the metropolis’s earlier chief Carrie Lam.
Talking after Lee formally took workplace, Xi touted Beijing’s ‘one nation, two programs’ coverage, supposed to permit some autonomy for the previous British colony whereas maintaining it a part of China-proper.
“For this sort of good system, there isn’t a cause in any respect to vary it. It should be maintained over the long run,” he mentioned.
Friday additionally marked the twenty fifth anniversary since Hong Kong returned to Chinese language governance, after the UK dominated over the world for greater than 150 years. Although Beijing vowed that Hong Kong would have a type of self-rule and judicial independence for at the least 50 years following the handover in 1997, Western leaders have accused China of curbing that autonomy, specifically with a 2020 nationwide safety legislation handed within the wake of mass protests and rioting.
A former safety chief, Lee is amongst a number of senior Hong Kong officers beneath US sanctions over the legislation, which he helped to implement. China has rejected criticisms of the laws, nonetheless, with Xi insisting it “restored order from chaos” whereas preserving residents’ “democratic rights.”
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