Chinese President Xi vows support for Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam

HONG KONG – Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in Beijing on Monday (Dec 16), where he said he recognised her courage to govern the Asian financial hub in “exceptional times” and supported the city’s police in upholding the law. 

Ms Lam met Mr Xi during a regular duty visit to the mainland. Mr Xi’s brief comments to the media before the closed door session were broadcast by Hong Kong’s Cable Television. 

Earlier, Ms Lam met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who said Hong Kong was not yet out of the “dilemma” facing the city’s economy after months of sometimes violent protests.

The meetings come after Hong Kong police fired tear gas in late-night street clashes with protesters on Sunday as the former British colony’s worst political crisis in decades drags on for the seventh month.

"Hong Kong right now has not stepped out of its dilemma," Mr Li said in his meeting with Mrs Lam, the opening remarks of which were broadcast by Cable TV.  

"The SAR (special administrative region) government must continue its efforts, end violence and stop the chaos in accordance with the law and restore order."

Anti-government protests in the city since June have posed one of the biggest populist challenges to Mr Xi’s rule. The unrest has also complicated ties between China and the United States at a time of heightened tensions, including over trade.

Mrs Lam’s visit comes amid speculation in local media that talks with Mr Xi could yield fresh directives on the city’s political crisis, including a possible Cabinet reshuffle.

The two previously met in Shanghai in early November when Mr Xi expressed “high trust” in Mrs Lam despite the turmoil.

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Mrs Lam, however, appeared to play down the prospects of a Cabinet reshuffle before she left, saying the first task was to curb violence and restore order, while seeking to engage in more dialogue with the public.

Late on Sunday, groups of masked young people – angered by what they see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 - blocked roads around Mong Kok district, prompting police to fire multiple rounds of tear gas and baton charge crowds.

It was the first time in nearly two weeks that tear gas had been deployed by police.

Fires were lit and traffic lights smashed, while one student reporter for Baptist University was hit in the face by a police projectile and had to be hospitalised, local television footage showed.

Small bands of protesters marched through several malls, blocking entrances, smashing glass and chanting slogans including “fight for freedom”. Many shops in affected malls closed early after battalions of riot police stormed in, pepper-spraying crowds and making multiple arrests.

Despite the protesters’ demands and anti-China rhetoric, China maintains it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula granting Hong Kong a large degree of autonomy and freedoms denied other cities in the mainland.

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Press freedom in Hong Kong has come under an accelerating squeeze despite China’s pledges to maintain an open society, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report on Monday.

Large media properties have come under mainland Chinese ownership or influence, while targeted violence has underscored potential dangers for journalists who challenge China’s wishes, the report said.

Asked about the report during a daily news briefing in Beijing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he has not seen the report and that it was not worth refuting.

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

The city, home to around 7 million people, entered its first recession in a decade in the third quarter with tourism and retail particularly affected by the sometimes violent protests.

Hong Kong International Airport reported its biggest fall in passenger numbers in more than a decade in November, official data released on Sunday showed.

Mrs Lam’s administration has pledged HK$25 billion (S$4.35 billion) in stimulus but analysts say it is unlikely to have a major impact as long as the unrest continues.

Some 7,000 licensed retail establishments out of 64,000 say they will be forced to close down in the next six months, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association said earlier this month.

While the number of protests has lessened in recent weeks from demonstrations nearly every day, the movement still enjoys broad backing, with families with children and retirees still coming out in support.

Protesters have called on the government to address their demands which include an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of universal suffrage.