Chinese President Xi Jinping has sworn in Hong Kong’s new leader, Carrie Lam, on the 20th anniversary of the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.
The flags of China and Hong Kong were raised at the outdoor ceremony Saturday, which took place at the same harbor-front venue where the last British governor handed the city over to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong’s new Beijing-approved chief executive, Lam swore Saturday to serve China and Hong Kong. She was chosen by less than 1 percent of Hong Kong’s voters, in a process decried by democracy activists as being fundamentally unfair.
Hundreds of police were deployed for the anniversary, a traditional day of protest in Hong Kong. Minor scuffles broke out between pro-democracy activists and pro-Beijing groups at a protest that took place about a kilometer from the swearing-in ceremony.
Security has been high for Xi’s three-day visit to the city. Xi has said he will meet with people from all walks of life during his trip, but the heightened security is likely to keep many of the protests and calls for political reform out of view.
Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule July 1, 1997, under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees wide-ranging freedoms for the city that are not granted to citizens in mainland China.
On Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said the document signed by Britain and China that initiated the handover “is no longer relevant.”
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