[The Epoch Times, July 1, 2022](Comprehensive report by The Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan) Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife visited Hong Kong for two high-profile visits. There were many anomalies in their visit. I also choose not to live in Hong Kong, but to stay in Shenzhen.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived in Hong Kong by high-speed train on Thursday (June 30). It is reported that those who attended the welcome ceremony on Thursday were strictly screened by officials, and citizens could not approach the surrounding of the station. At the same time, the media were also restricted from interviewing staff and arranged to take photos and videos from great distances.
Xi then attended a dinner at Government House, a colonial-era official residence for Hong Kong’s top local officials. The closed-door meeting on Thursday night lasted about two hours, and little information was released to the public.
The Hong Kong government imposed strict security measures for Xi’s visit, blocking part of the bustling business district of Wan Chai and temporarily banning drones from flying across the territory.
Temporary road closures due to security work also made some roads in the Hong Kong area congested, and it was not until Thursday night that authorities cleared a road to allow Xi Jinping’s motorcade to board the train back to Shenzhen, where he will spend the night. Xi Jinping will then return to Hong Kong to deliver a speech on July 1, the official handover anniversary and the day the new government takes office.
A strong wind warning was issued for Hong Kong late on Thursday as Tropical Storm Chaba approached, expected to last until the next morning, when the city’s flag was raised.
Tan Yaozong, a senior pro-Beijing Hong Kong official and the only Hong Kong member of the Communist Party’s top legislature, was unable to meet and take photos with Xi Jinping early in the afternoon after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. For the event, he had been staying in a quarantine hotel for government officials.
Wong Tai Sin Temple built the flag-raising platform, the first religious place to hang the CCP flag
On the 25th, Wong Tai Sin Temple, a local Taoist temple in Hong Kong, built the first flag-raising platform, becoming the first religious place in Hong Kong to hold a flag-raising ceremony. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, all temples, churches and mosques in mainland China are required to display the Chinese flag, and even portraits of Chinese leaders are required in some places.
The streets and public spaces of Hong Kong were adorned with Chinese flags, flowers and banners with patriotic messages. Some outspoken democratic politicians say the public celebrations mask an ominous feeling many residents have about their future.
“Most Hong Kongers want to continue to enjoy the freedom and personal safety that we have enjoyed over the years,” Emily Lau, the former chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, who served as a local legislator for 25 years, told The Wall Street Journal. “But there’s a lot of anxiety and worry right now and, of course, a lot of people leaving.”
It is unreasonable to live in Shenzhen and live in Hong Kong
Xi Jinping’s visit to Hong Kong includes a return to Shenzhen on Thursday and a trip to Hong Kong on Friday, raising suspicions as to why.
Akio Yaita, director of the Taipei branch of Japan’s “Sankei Shimbun”, analyzed on Facebook that Xi Jinping “returned to Shenzhen tonight and to Hong Kong tomorrow. In fact, the reasons are not difficult to speculate. The first is fear of contracting the virus, and the second is fear of protests.”
Akio Yaita said that Xi Jinping is particularly afraid of protests, because he also knows that what the CCP has done in Hong Kong in recent years has caused great public resentment. I want to ask Xi Jinping for an explanation.”
Akio Yaita believes that, after all, Hong Kong is different from China, and the central government cannot do as an arm to Hong Kong government officials. Therefore, after Xi Jinping hastily walked through Hong Kong, he must return to Shenzhen to feel at ease.
Fan Shiping, a professor at the Institute of Political Studies at Taiwan Normal University, posted on Facebook that Xi Jinping’s visit to Hong Kong this time wanted to highlight the successful completion of Hong Kong’s “second return”, showing that he has taken full control of Hong Kong and that he has created a justification for his continued re-election at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Sex, “However, the schedule is so lacking in self-confidence, as if it is facing a big enemy, it is seen through the hands and feet. The world‘s second largest economy has a strong military and looks like a giant, but in fact it is a dwarf at heart.”
Last Hong Kong governor criticises Xi’s fear of freedom spirit represented by Hong Kong
In a brief speech ceremony at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station on Thursday, Xi said he has been following Hong Kong and caring about Hong Kong for the past five years. Hong Kong has been reborn from the ashes after going through the storm, showing vigor and vitality.
He also said that “one country, two systems” is a good system and that “one country, two systems” must be unswervingly adhered to.
But Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, criticized Beijing for tightening its grip on Hong Kong in recent years and for reneging on its “one country, two systems” promise.
“It’s fair to say that in the 10 years after 1997, maybe longer, (Hong Kong) didn’t have too much of a problem, but it’s been going away since then,” Patten said at a news conference last week. It’s gone downhill, in part because Xi Jinping and his colleagues are terrified of what Hong Kong actually represents.”
When the CCP took back Hong Kong’s sovereignty in 1997, it promised to ensure that Hong Kong implements the “one country, two systems” and capitalist system, and has the right to “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy”, and that the social system and way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years.
The Communist Party has long feared Western powers using Hong Kong as a bridgehead for democratic attacks on its authoritarian system. Over the years, Hong Kongers have resented the Communist Party’s growing influence, with mass protests erupting from time to time, culminating in 2019, when the government pushed for a law that would allow the extradition of criminals to mainland China (commonly known as the “Send China Law”) .
Subsequently, Xi Jinping hastened the return of Hong Kong for a second time, introduced the National Security Law and restricted members of the Legislative Council from being pro-Beijing.
In 2022, more than 1,000 political prisoners, including activists, students, journalists and lawyers, are now tormented in Hong Kong’s jails without bail or the chance of a free trial.
Freedom of speech in Hong Kong has dropped to almost zero. When Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong in 2017, he encountered a street full of pro-democracy protesters. Hong Kong police said this year that there were no protests during Mr. Xi’s visit because most pro-democracy groups disbanded and activists were either imprisoned or forced to flee.
Xi Jinping’s transformation of Hong Kong is not just about stripping away the freedoms and institutions it once had, it is also trying to reshape the city with the CCP’s vision of repressing, intolerant of dissent, suspicious of foreigners, and determined to instill in the entire population a sense of China. Forced loyalty to the Communist Party and its whitewashed view of history.
Responsible editor: Li Yuan#