China’s Xi Jinping meets Hong Kong leader, backs Carrie Lam’s ‘hard work’ amid protests
- Xi express support for Lam’s effort but says priority is still to curb violence and stop chaos in Hong Kong during talks in Shanghai
- Meeting the first for the two leaders since Hong Kong unrest broke out in June
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed “high trust” in Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in a meeting with Lam on Monday in Shanghai and “fully affirmed” the chief executive’s response to unrest that has rattled the city since June, according to official media.
The formal sit-down was the first official meeting between the two since anti-government protests began in early June, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
Responding to a report presented by Lam on the recent situation in Hong Kong, Xi affirmed the “hard work” done so far by the city’s chief executive to stabilise the situation and restore order, state news agency Xinhua reported, adding that Lam had Beijing’s trust in terms of work that still needed to be carried out.
“The central government has high trust in you and fully affirms the work of you and the governance team of Hong Kong,” Xi was quoted as saying. “To curb the violence and stop the chaos in accordance with the law is still the most important task faced by Hong Kong.”
“At the same time, we must do a good job in dialogue with the community and improve people’s livelihood,” Xi said. “I hope that people from all walks of life in Hong Kong will comprehensively and accurately implement the ‘one country, two systems’ policy and the Basic Law and work together to safeguard Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.”