Hong Kong police leave nothing to chance for Xi Jinping visit with unprecedented security ring
Chinese leader and entourage in city for 20th handover anniversary shielded from protesters and passers-by alike
Workers in their office blocks had to wait as Xi’s motorcade passed by, while pedestrians were steered away from pavements and drivers from several roads before Xi and wife Peng Liyuan arrived in the city at noon Friday.
In the waters off Wan Chai, a police fast pursuit craft was seen joining a fleet of more than 10 launches patrolling the harbour around the clock.
Police said the deployment was necessary as the assessment of the threat level for the visit was “fairly high”.
Some prominent activists, including student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, were to apply for help from the courts to overturn what they described as their “unreasonable detention”.
Their case was to be heard on Friday morning.
Police officers from the elite VIP Protection Unit, one carrying a briefcase – with a sub-machine gun inside – moved in to escort the president as he crossed the tarmac and stepped into a bulletproof limousine.
Fellow officers from the unit ran alongside the limousine for a distance before it took off at full speed.
A security source explained: “This allows them to view any potential enemies clearly and make a speedy response.”
The officers then jumped into one of five protection unit cars that had their doors slightly ajar when the motorcade left.
That allowed them to save time so that “in an emergency, they can jump out of the vehicles quickly to protect their boss”, the source said.
Xi’s BMW limousine was escorted throughout by the five vehicles, including a van full of officers from the Special Duties Unit”, an elite combat team known as the “Flying Tigers”.
Hong Kong’s political leaders are the embarrassment if they ... curtail freedom
The entire arts hub was closed for two days from Wednesday for a “private event”, according to notices posted on the gates.
There were media reports that some activists could try to hang banners to protest against Xi along the possible routes he might take to visit places, but that did not happen on Thursday.
In a written statement, Amnesty International Hong Kong director Mabel Au said: “It is Hong Kong’s political leaders who are the embarrassment if they go to extreme lengths to curtail freedom of expression and peaceful protest to appease Beijing.”
All 26 protesters arrested for causing a “public nuisance” on Wednesday night had been released on bail as of about 5am on Friday.
They accused police of deliberately dragging their feet in taking statements in order to prevent them from going out for more protests to mark the visit of Xi to the city.
