Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday expressed anxiety about political unrest in Hong Kong, emphasizing that the "one country, two systems" policy is "fully applicable" and "achievable."
"In recent months, our hearts have been concerned about the situation in Hong Kong," Xi said in his televised speech on New Year's Eve. "Without a harmonious and stable environment, how can people live in peace and enjoy their work?"
"Hong Kong's prosperity and stability is the wish of Hong Kong compatriots and the expectation of people of our motherland," Xi added.
(Xi, right, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Dec. 16)
[Photo courtesy of Hong Kong government]
In Hong Kong, pro-democracy protests began in June over a now-withdrawn bill that sought to allow extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China. They have continued unabated.
Recently, the protesters have been making five demands, including electoral reforms and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality during protests, but mainland China has so far shown little sign of completely accepting them.
In late 2019, fears grew that the Chinese leadership, led by Xi, might violently intervene to end such protests in the territory, just as it did during the military crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Under China's "one country, two systems" principle, Hong Kong was promised it would enjoy the rights and freedoms of a semiautonomous region for 50 years following the former British colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997.
(Protesters in Hong Kong on Dec. 31)
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