Xi Visits Hong Kong for 25th Anniv. of Return to China

On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of returning the former British colony to China in 1997.

It is the president’s first visit outside mainland China since the onset of the pandemic, as Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, headed to Hong Kong by high-speed train amid tight security.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region under the agreement that was supposed to give the city of about 7 million people a wide range degree of autonomy for 50 years after Britain handed over the city, but the city has been ruled for a long time according to the principle one country, two systems.

However, in 2020, Beijing introduced a controversial new national security law, which puts an end to the mass pro-democracy demonstrations.

The South China Morning Post reported that Xi is scheduled to meet local economic and political representatives on Thursday.

After a visit to a scientific research city, Xi will attend an official dinner with Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

The Chinese president is scheduled to attend tomorrow, Friday the celebrities to mark the 25th anniversary, while John Lee, the former Secretary for Security of Hong Kong will be appointed to replace Lam on that day.