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Xi Jinping warns of 'red line' as Hong Kong marks 20 years of Chinese rule
By James Griffiths, CNN
Updated 1254 GMT (2054 HKT) July 1, 2017
Hong Kong (CNN)? China's President Xi Jinping has warned that any efforts in Hong Kong "to challenge the power" of Beijing are "absolutely impermissible," as the former British colony marked 20 years of Chinese rule Saturday.
"Any attempt to endanger China's sovereignty and security ... or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses a red line," Xi said, in a nationalistic speech which emphasized Beijing's control over the city, now a special administrative region of China.
It was Xi's first visit to the city since he took power in Beijing in 2013, and came amid fears by some Hong Kongers of increasing Chinese encroachment on the city's autonomy -- guaranteed under a framework known as "one country, two systems."
A protester raises a poster with Chinese President Xi Jinping's portrait as thousands march during the annual pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, Saturday, July 1, 2017.
Xi left Hong Kong in the early afternoon Saturday before the kick-off of an annual July 1 pro-democracy march, which saw streets packed with protesters despite stifling heat and heavy rain.
Organizers said 60,000 people turned out, far less than the 110,000 they said took part last year. Police -- who use a different method to count participants -- said 14,500 joined the march, compared to 19,300 last year.
Ron Wong, 17, who was marching with his parents, said Xi's visit had been a "show of power of who's in charge."
"China has barricaded itself off (from criticism)," he said.
The plight of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Chinese dissident recently granted parole for cancer treatment, was also a rallying cry. Many protesters carried banners calling for his release, or pictures of empty chairs -- echoing the award of his 2010 Nobel prize that took place while he was in prison.
Sheltering from the rain near the end point of the march -- Hong Kong's Legislative Council building -- Au Yeung-dong said it was a "successful protest."
"I think we managed to get Xi's attention," said the 39-year-old, who was wearing a chair with Liu Xiaobo's name on it.
Protesters carry a large image of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as they march during the annual pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong, Saturday, July 1, 2017.
Lam sworn in
Earlier, Xi swore in Carrie Lam as Hong Kong's first female Chief Executive. Lam called for unity to heal the city's divided society -- just hours after police scuffled with pro-democracy protesters attempting to reach the harbor-side venue where the ceremony took place.
Lam said she recognized the political and economic challenges facing Hong Kong but added that the city's problems cannot be solved overnight.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Hong Kong's new Chief Executive Carrie Lam after Xi administered her oath-taking ceremony.
Protesters had hoped to march on an early morning flag-raising ceremony, but were prevented from moving more than a few hundred meters by flag-waving counter-demonstrators and a huge police cordon.
Leaders including high-profile campaigner Joshua Wong were detained and bundled into police vans as their supporters shouted "shame." He was later released.
Lawmaker "Longhair" Leung Kwok-hung, a veteran pro-democracy activist, was also briefly taken into custody. "Patriotism is the last resort of thugs," he said after his release.
Hong Kong lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung (right) at a pro-democracy rally Saturday. Protesters were prevented from leaving the venue by pro-China counter demonstrators.
The confrontation, and police response, exposes the tensions in the city between those who seek greater freedom and those loyal to leadership on the mainland.
At a gala event Friday night, Xi urged Hong Kongers to unite and build on the progress made by previous generations.
With Hong Kong's leaders, China's President Xi Jinping sings a song entitled "My Country" at a gala event in Hong Kong to mark 20 years since the handover of the city from British to Chinese rule.
"The road ahead is by no means smooth, but our faith in implementing 'one country, two systems' will not change, our determination won't be swayed," he said, referring to system that affords Hong Kong a degree of separation from the mainland.
Show of force
Xi's visit, which has seen unprecedented levels of security with roadblocks, huge barriers and a massive police presence, was largely peaceful.
The Chinese President oversaw a military parade Friday, the largest since the city's handover from the UK to China in 1997, with around 3,000 members of the People's Liberation Army taking part.
Around 6,000 troops are based in the city, with their headquarters in Admiralty, next to the Hong Kong government offices.
Photos: China's Xi parades at Hong Kong PLA garrison
Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects the Hong Kong garrison of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) at their Shek Kong base in Hong Kong, on Friday, June 30, 2017.
Multiple attempts by protesters to get anywhere near Xi during his time in the city ended in failure, while a pro-Hong Kong independence rally scheduled for Friday night was canceled after police refused organizers permission to use a public square.
Two dozen activists were arrested Wednesday after they stormed and occupied the public square where the flag-raising took place. The protesters, including "Umbrella Movement" leaders Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, were not released until early Friday morning.
Protests and challenges
The mood among many pro-democracy campaigners was somewhat muted during Xi's visit, nothing like the anger and frustration that saw hundreds of thousands occupy the streets of central Hong Kong during 2014's "Umbrella Movement."
But deep rifts in society remain, a problem that Chief Executive Lam has vowed to tackle.
Lam has indicated she may revive efforts to pass a controversial anti-sedition law known as Article 23.
Article 23 requires the Hong Kong government to "enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government."
Some warn the law could be used as an excuse to crack down on criticism of the government or the discussion of controversial topics like Hong Kong independence.
Many locals fear the law could be the final nail in the coffin for the city's autonomy from China. A previous attempt to introduce the legislation drew half a million protesters onto the streets and resulted in the resignation of a key minister in 2003.
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the agreement by which Hong Kong was handed over from the UK to China, was now just an "historical document" with no practical significance.
Chris Patten, the city's last British colonial governor who presided over the handover in 1997, said that China had been pressuring Hong Kong "in all sort of ways."
"You see this in attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law, interference in court cases, you see it in the atmosphere of hostility toward the independence of universities and the media," he told CNN before the anniversary.
However, for one Chinese student visiting the city, Hong Kong, with its right to protest still intact, still feels distinct.
"It's very different from the mainland environment," said Liu, 18, who only gave her surname, from the sidelines of the protest march.
"(In China) we'd never have any opportunity to speak out like this."
CNN's Yuli Yang, Karina Tsui, Serenitie Wang, Katie Hunt and Eric Cheung contributed to this report
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Hong Kong handover: 20 years
Hong Kong(중화인민국공화국 홍콩특별행정구)
가) 略史
ⓐ 1940. 6 the Opium War(아편전쟁) 발발
ⓑ 1842년 南京條約에 의해 英國에 할양(양도)
ⓒ 1860년 Arrow호사건(제2차 아편전쟁)으로 Kowloon 半島와 Stonecutters Island를 영국에 무기한조차
ⓓ 1898. 7. 9 義和團事件(the Boxers Rebellion)후 新界(New Territories)를 99년간 영국에 기한부조차
ⓔ 1941. 12 日本의 Hong Kong 점령
ⓕ 1979. 3 鄧小平(Deng Xiaoping, Teng Hsiaop'ing. 1904.8.22~1997.2.19)이 Hong Kong 총독과 반환문제 첫 논의
ⓖ 1982. 10 中英 Hong Kong반환회담 시작
ⓗ 1984. 12. 19 中・英 Hong Kong반환협정 서명
ⓘ 1990. 4. 4 Hong Kong특별행정구기본법 통과
ⓙ 1992년 Chris Patten총독 Hong Kong민주화방안 발표
ⓚ 1993. 7 中國 Hong Kong반환을 위한 예비운영위원회 설립
ⓛ 1995. 9. 17 마지막 입법위원 60명선거
ⓜ 1996. 1 Hong Kong특별행정구준비위원회 발족
ⓝ 1996. 3. 31 Hong Kong행정청 Hong Kong인들에게 영국여권발급 마감
ⓞ 1996. 8 英國軍철군시작
ⓟ 1996. 12. 11 董建華(둥젠화, Tung Chee-wha) 초대 Hong Kong 행정수반에 임명(2005.3월 사임)
ⓠ 1996. 7. 1 中國에 반환
ⓡ 2005. 6. 21 Donald Chang(曾蔭權) 2대 Hong Kong 행정수반에 임명
ⓢ 2012.7.1 렁춘잉(梁振英, Leung Chun-ying)
ⓣ 2017. 7 캐리 람(린정웨어, 林鄭月娥. Carrie Lam)
홍콩의 행정장관(香港特別行政區行政長官, 香港特別行政区行政长官, Xiānggǎngtèbiéxíngzhèngqūxíngzhèngzhǎngguān 샹강 터볘 싱정취 싱정장관, 香港特別行政區行政長官 횡겅닥빋항징쾨이 항징정군, 영어: Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)
대 | 이름 | 기간 |
1~2대 | 둥젠화(董建華, 董建华, Dǒng Jiànhuá. Tung Chee Hwa) | 1997.7.1~2005.3.12 |
3~4대 | 도날드 창(Sir Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen, 曾蔭權, 曾荫权, Zēng Yìnquán) | 2005.6.21~2012.6.30 |
5대 | 렁춘잉(梁振英, Liáng Zhènyīng, Chun-Ying Leung) | 2012.7.1~2017.6.30 |
6대 | 린정웨어((林鄭月娥.Carrie Lam) | 2017.7.1 |
나) 1984. 12. 19 협정 : 1997. 7. 1 반환
ⓐ 外交・國防을 제외한 부문에서 高度의 自治(a high degree of autonomy)를 누리는 특별행정구역
ⓑ 行政府는 Hong Kongese로 구성되며(Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong People, 港人治港) 수반은 북경에서 임명
ⓒ 1國 2體制(one country two systems)하의 자본주의체제는 50년간 유지, 사유재산제도, Hong Kong dollar 自由兌換
다) Hong Kong
ⓐ Area : 416 square miles(1,076.27 k㎡)
ⓑ Major industries : clothing, plastics, computer machinery and equipment, watches and clocks
ⓑ Tourism : Arrivals, 27.8 million in 2014
In 2014, Hong Kong was the eleventh most popular destination for international tourists among countries and territories worldwide, with a total of 27.8 million visitors contributing a total of US$38,376 million in international tourism receipts. Hong Kong is also the most popular city for tourists, nearly two times of its nearest competitor Macau.
ⓓ Climate : subtropical, a hot, wet summer and a cool, generally dry winter
ⓔ Life expectancy : 78 years
ⓕ Population : 7.3 million(2017)
ⓖ GDP : $400.4 billion(2014)
ⓗ Religion : Various local religions (90%), Christian(10%)
라) 홍콩기본법의 핵심(The Basics of the Basic Law in Hong Kong(adopted by the National People's Congress in April 4, 1990)
ⓐ Article 4 : The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and of other persons in the region in accordance with the law.
ⓑ Article 5 : The socialist system and policies shall not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.
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