Security was tight at the same harbour-front venue where two decades earlier, the last colonial governor, Chris Patten, tearfully handed back Hong Kong to Chinese rule at a rain-soaked ceremony. Self determination", and pro-Beijing groups taunted each other, with hundreds of police deployed on a traditional day of protest in Hong Kong. Beijing-backed civil servant Lam was chosen to be Hong Kong's next leader in March by a 1,200-person "election committee" stacked with pro-China and pro-establishment loyalists. Xi's visit comes amid heightened tension between China and Hong Kong. Beijing's refusal to grant universal suffrage to Hong Kong triggered nearly three months of street protests in 2014 and growing calls for independence for the city, in what many observers see as the most tumultuous post-handover period seen in Hong Kong .

Source: Otago Daily Times July 01, 2017 01:18 UTC