Update | China leaders stress Hong Kong should stick to strict reform framework
Xi and Li indicate sterner approach to city's political affairs during C.Y. Leung visit while pledging support for economic development
State leaders have stressed that Hong Kong should stick to the stringent framework for political reform set by Beijing and, for the first time since the Occupy Central protests ended, pledged more support for the city's economic development.
The comments, made by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during a visit to the capital by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, have been taken as a further sign that Beijing will take a sterner approach to the city's political affairs in the wake of Occupy. They follow a series of remarks by Beijing advisers and officials indicating a tougher stance.
Leung dismissed suggestions Beijing was offering sweeteners in exchange for public support for its vision for the 2017 chief executive election. The central government wants the city's leader elected from a list of two or three chosen by a 1,200-strong committee, an idea rejected by pan-democrats, who want the public to nominate candidates.
Both Xi and Li "fully endorsed" the work of Leung's administration. They urged Hongkongers to "cherish" the city's economic achievements and the rule of law.
Receiving Leung on the second day of his annual duty visit, Xi told the chief executive that the central government would lend him "unwavering support" as he pushed political reform forward. Without mentioning Occupy directly, Xi noted that Leung had maintained stability in the city.