China's Xi visits changed Hong Kong for handover anniversary

In an apparent reference to the 2019 protests, Mr. Xi told well-wishers on his arrival that Hong Kong has overcome many challenges over the years and had been “reborn from the ashes”.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party.

In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 ½ years — a choice that underscored Hong Kong's ever-closer ties to the mainland. Waving small red Chinese and Hong Kong flags, the students chanted “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” while city leader Carrie Lam greeted Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

Under Mr. Xi's leadership, China has reshaped Hong Kong, cracking down on protests, imposing a strict national security law used to silence dissent, introducing a more "patriotic" curriculum in schools, and revamping election laws to keep opposition politicians out of the city’s Legislature. The changes have all but eliminated dissenting voices in a place once known for its vibrant political debate and have driven many to leave.

In its view, China's ruling Communist Party has restored stability to a city that was wracked with pro-democracy protests in 2019. For many in the U.S., the U.K. and other democratic nations, Mr. Xi has undermined the freedoms and way of life that distinguished the city from mainland China and made it a international center for finance and trade.

In an apparent reference to the 2019 protests, Mr. Xi told well-wishers on his arrival that Hong Kong has overcome many challenges over the years and had been “reborn from the ashes” with “vigorous vitality.” Later after meeting with Ms. Lam, he praised her for ending what he said was chaos that had gripped the city and for ensuring that only “patriots” would rule Hong Kong.

“As long as we stick to the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, Hong Kong will certainly have a brighter future and will make new and bigger contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people,” he said in a speech at the Hong Kong West Kowloon train station.

Since Britain returned the territory to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has been a special administrative region that, like nearby Macao, is governed separately from the rest of China. But Mr. Xi has steadily eroded that distinction, and critics say, undermined the policy of maintaining two systems.