Xi revels in Macau handover party as Hong Kong simmers
‘Won’t allow foreign interference in HK, Macau’
Macau: President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China would never allow foreign forces to interfere with its special regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as he swore in a new pro-Beijing government for the gambling hub of Macau. “I must emphasize, since Hong Kong and Macau’s return to the motherland, dealing with these two Special Administrative Regions’ affairs is entirely China’s internal affairs and none of the business of foreign forces,” Xi said. Reuters
Macau, December 20
Macau on Friday celebrated 20 years since the former Portuguese colony was returned to China, with President Xi Jinping praising the pliant gambling hub for its patriotism, a stark contrast to protest-ravaged Hong Kong.
The day’s festivities centred around the inauguration of a new leader for a city that Xi described as a “shining chapter” of its “one country, two systems” model.
Ho Iat-seng, a former member of China’s top lawmaking body, won a one-horse race this summer to become Macau’s new chief executive — a position that is chosen by a 400-member committee stacked with Beijing loyalists.
Throughout his three-day visit, Xi has seized on Macau’s comparative political calm, a theme he continued in Friday’s landmark speech as he presided over Ho’s swearing-in ceremony.
“A sense of nation and patriotic spirit has deeply taken root in the hearts of young people,” Xi told delegates, adding that loyalty towards Beijing was the “most important reason” for Macau’s success.
China has repeatedly portrayed Hong Kong’s huge protests as a foreign-backed revolution designed to destabilise the motherland, rejecting any suggestion Hong Kongers have legitimate political grievances.
Both Hong Kong and Macau are run on Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model that allows them to retain certain liberties such as an independent judiciary, a free market and a separate currency.
But while Hong Kong — a one-hour ferry ride away — seethes with popular resentment towards Beijing, Macau has become steadily more like the mainland. — AFP
