“Making everything political or deliberately creating differences and provoking confrontations will not resolve the problems,” Mr. Xi said. Hong Kong “cannot afford to be torn apart by reckless moves or internal rifts.”Young activists have formed new groups promoting independence or a local Hong Kong identity separate from the mainland, alarming Beijing. Meanwhile, incidents such as the secret detentions of five Hong Kong booksellers on the mainland have stirred fears that Beijing is undermining the “one country, two systems” blueprint. Mr. Xi oversaw a swearing-in ceremony for Ms. Lam, Hong Kong’s fifth chief executive since 1997 and first female in the job. Even the Chinese flag displayed behind Mr. Xi as he spoke was noticeably larger than Hong Kong’s beside it.

Source: The Hindu July 01, 2017 08:03 UTC