Xi Jinping gets credit for solving Hong Kong’s ‘unprecedented challenges’
Communist Party committee lauds president’s application of ‘one country, two systems’ and says majority of Hongkongers are proud of Chinese identity
The Chinese Communist Party’s committee overseeing Hong Kong affairs has credited President Xi Jinping’s leadership for overcoming “unprecedented challenges” the city has faced over the past five years through the “accurate and unswerving” implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle.
In an article published over the weekend, the party committee under the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office noted that the vast majority of Hong Kong people were “deeply proud of their Chinese identity” and admired Xi for Beijing’s achievements.
The article on the implementation of “one country, two systems” since 2012 was published in the party’s flagship journal Qiushi, or Seeking Truth, days before Xi is expected to unveil his five-yearly report at the start of the party’s landmark 19th congress in Beijing on Wednesday.
China’s political system has effective checks on power that even Xi Jinping can’t ignore
Under the “one country, two systems” principle, Beijing guarantees Hong Kong “a high degree of autonomy” for at least half a century until 2047.
According to the report, since the last congress in 2012, the party has achieved success in four key areas: implementing “one country, two systems” and taking it in the right direction; governing Hong Kong and Macau in accordance with the law; supporting the two cities’ economic and social development; and “fostering the reunification of Hong Kong and Macau people’s hearts”.
“The party’s leadership under Xi … has persistently implemented the ‘one country, two systems’ principle comprehensively and accurately,” the committee said. “Xi also emphasised that the implementation … would be unswerving.”
Being Xi Jinping: the difficult art of juggling growth and control after China’s Communist Party congress
On governing Hong Kong according to the law, the committee said Beijing fully supported the city’s government in dealing with the 2014 Occupy protests, during which roads were blocked for 79 days by activists demanding greater democracy.