Xi Jinping leaves mainland China for the primary time because the starting of pandemic

Xi Jinping leaves mainland China for the first time since the beginning of pandemic - CNN

(CNN)Chinese language chief Xi Jinping has left mainland China for the primary time because the starting of the pandemic, arriving in Hong Kong Thursday forward of the twenty fifth anniversary of town’s handover from British to Chinese language rule.

Xi is anticipated to spend two days within the monetary hub and attend a collection of official occasions to mark each the July 1 handover and the inauguration ceremony of town’s subsequent Beijing appointed chief John Lee, a former police officer and safety chief.Within the nearly 900 days since Xi final left the mainland on January 17, 2020, his diplomatic actions have been restricted to digital summits and video conferences, lending explicit significance to his Hong Kong journey.Xi arrived within the metropolis Thursday afternoon, through high-speed practice from the Chinese language border metropolis of Shenzhen, whereupon he was met by giant crowd waving nationwide flags and chanting in unison: “Welcome, welcome, a heat welcome.”He was then led alongside a purple carpet, as colourful lion dancers carried out, including to the din of drumming, chanting and trumpets. Xi was first greeted by Hong Kong’s departing Chief Government Carrie Lam and her high officers. After exchanging a couple of phrases, Xi and his delegation slowly made their method by way of the station, waving to the gang and talking with different officers current. “It has been greater than 5 years since my final go to to Hong Kong. Over the previous 5 years, I’ve been paying shut consideration to Hong Kong and caring about it,” mentioned Xi in a brief speech afterward.”Over the previous few years, Hong Kong has withstood one extreme take a look at after one other and overcome one danger and problem after one other. After weathering the storms, Hong Kong has emerged from the ashes with vigorous vitality.”

Leaving the Covid bubble

Xi’s arrival coincides with forecasts of a storm bringing heavy winds and rain, and comes after weeks of uncertainty as as to whether he would danger leaving mainland China’s stringent zero-Covid bubble, to journey to a metropolis now reporting greater than 1,000 new Covid instances a day.Beneath Xi, China stands remoted from the world in pursuing a zero-tolerance strategy to the virus with the nation’s worldwide borders shut and journey strictly curtailed. Xi reaffirmed the coverage on Wednesday throughout a symbolic go to to Wuhan, the central Chinese language metropolis the place the virus first emerged in late 2019, saying that he would fairly “briefly sacrifice a little bit financial progress” than “hurt folks’s well being,” in response to state information company Xinhua.”If we calculate the full prices and advantages, our Covid insurance policies are probably the most economical and efficient,” Xi mentioned, including that China had the flexibility to proceed its zero-Covid strategy “till the ultimate victory.”Whereas Hong Kong has been closely influenced by Beijing’s uncompromising well being insurance policies, implementing strict quarantine and border controls, in addition to enforced social distancing measures, it has thus far averted the kind of extended city-wide lockdowns or obligatory mass testing seen in mainland cities similar to Shanghai and Xi’an.Prematurely of Xi’s go to, Hong Kong imposed a spread of Covid restrictions. As of final week, high officers have been forbidden from attending public occasions and restricted to utilizing non-public automobiles when commuting. They’ve additionally been examined every day for Covid, and should spend Thursday night time in a quarantine resort earlier than Friday’s handover ceremony.

Arriving in a modified metropolis

The final time Xi visited Hong Kong to mark the handover was in 2017, for the twentieth anniversary, when he was met with streets stuffed with pro-democracy protesters.However no protests are anticipated this yr. Most Hong Kong pro-democracy teams have disbanded following the enactment of town’s sweeping nationwide safety legislation two years in the past. A subsequent crackdown noticed almost all of Hong Kong’s main pro-democracy figures, together with activists and politicians, both jailed or compelled into exile. Of the organizations that stay, none have utilized for permits to stage peaceable protests throughout Xi’s journey, in response to police. The League of Social Democrats, one of many few surviving pro-democracy political events, mentioned it could not stage any protests after a number of members met with nationwide safety police.The Hong Kong authorities has repeatedly defended the nationwide safety legislation, saying it has restored order to town, which was rocked by pro-democracy, anti-government protests in 2019.

Venues closed, no-fly zone

Taking no possibilities, police have ramped up safety and shut down areas near key venues. Pedestrian footbridges, highways and one practice station in a number of the busiest areas of Hong Kong have been briefly closed for Thursday and Friday. A no-fly zone has additionally been established throughout town’s harbor, with drone use restricted all through Xi’s go to.Authorities have additionally closely restricted media entry to the handover celebrations, a far cry from the open reporting atmosphere and freewheeling native press of years previous.Based on the Hong Kong Journalists Affiliation (HKJA), at the least 10 journalists working for native and worldwide organizations had their purposes to cowl the occasions rejected for “safety causes.””With media unable to ship journalists on the bottom, the HKJA expresses utmost remorse over the inflexible reporting preparations made by the authorities for such a serious occasion,” the press group mentioned on Tuesday.
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