Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed “high trust” in Hong Kong’s embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in a meeting with Lam on Monday in Shanghai and “fully affirmed” the chief executive’s response to unrest that has rattled the city since June, according to official media, Eurasia Diary reports citing South China Morning Post.
Responding to a report presented by Lam on the recent situation in Hong Kong, Xi affirmed the “hard work” done so far by the city’s chief executive to stabilise the situation and restore order, state news agency Xinhua reported, adding that Lam had Beijing’s trust in terms of work that still needed to be carried out.
“The central government has high trust in you and fully affirms the work of you and the governance team of Hong Kong,” Xi was quoted as saying. “To curb the violence and stop the chaos in accordance with the law is still the most important task faced by Hong Kong.”
“At the same time, we must do a good job in dialogue with the community and improve people’s livelihood,” Xi said. “I hope that people from all walks of life in Hong Kong will comprehensively and accurately implement the ‘one country, two systems’ policy and the Basic Law and work together to safeguard Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.”
Xi is in Shanghai to open the China International Import Expo which is expected to open on Tuesday, after inspecting the city’s “urban renewal work” on Sunday.
The Post reported earlier that Carrie Lam had been called to Beijing for an unscheduled meeting with Vice-Premier Han Zheng on Wednesday, with sources saying this would involve key policy directives on the protest-hit city, amid discussions on the national security law.