
Xi Jinping crushed Hong Kong's opposition. Now he claims handover to China marked 'beginning of true democracy'
CNN
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday claimed "true democracy" began in Hong Kong 25 years ago when China assumed control, as he marked a symbolic anniversary for the city transformed by his political crackdown.
"After its return to the motherland, Hong Kong compatriots became masters of their own affairs, Hong Kong people administered Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy, and that was the beginning of true democracy in Hong Kong," Xi said in a keynote address to Hong Kong officials to mark the 25th anniversary of the handover.
The former British colony is now at the halfway point in the 50-year promise of "a high degree of autonomy," given by Beijing under a framework known as "one country, two systems."

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As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











