Xi defends vision of HK on 25th anniversary of return

Hong Kong: China's leader Xi Jinping marked the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return with a speech Friday that emphasised Beijing's control over the former British colony under its vision of one country, two systems countering criticism that the political and civic freedoms promised for the next quarter-century have been largely erased under

Chinese rule.

Xi praised the city for overcoming violent social unrest a reference to massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 that were followed by a Beijing-driven crackdown that has snuffed out dissent and shut down independent media, aligning Hong Kong more closely with stricter controls under China's ruling Communist Party.

The shift shocked many in the city of 7.4 million people that Britain returned to China in 1997 after running it as a colony for more than a century.

As part of the agreement, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to have its own government and legal system for 50 years.

In the ensuing years, Hong Kong activists pushed back against Chinese efforts to curtail freedoms in the city and even made demands for fully democratic elections, drawing out hundreds of thousands of people for marches in the streets.

Under Xi, that pushback has been silenced. For years, the anniversary of the July 1 handover was marked by an official ceremony in the morning and a protest march in the afternoon. Now, protesters have been cowed into silence in what the Communist Party hails as restoring stability to the city.

Xi said that Beijing has comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong should respect Chinese leadership, even as Beijing allows regions like Hong Kong and neighbouring Macao to maintain their capitalist system and a degree of autonomy.