Message from Xi to Hong Kong: think of national interest
President also expressed hope the prosperity and stability of the city will be safeguarded

President Xi Jinping, in his first open speech as head of state, appealed to Hongkongers to uphold the interests of the nation and the city.
"Compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions should put emphasis on the country, Hong Kong and Macau's overall interest," Xi told delegates at the closing session of the National People's Congress in Beijing yesterday.
"[This is] so as to safeguard and foster the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macau," he said.
Last March, about two weeks before Hong Kong's chief executive election, then vice-president Xi had also told delegates to the legislature that the city should put the country's overall interest above their personal concerns.
Xi's speech yesterday came shortly before new Premier Li Keqiang urged Hong Kong to make good and full use of the central government's policy initiatives that benefit the city.
Local NPC deputies and a political analyst said Li's comment referred to some of the 36 economic, financial, tourism, social and Guangdong-Hong Kong co-operation measures announced during his 2011 visit to the city, as well as to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) initiatives that had not been fully utilised.