01 July, 2017
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the airport in Hong Kong, June 29, 2017.
Hong Kong boasts the third largest population of ultra-high net worth individuals worth at least $30 million in a city, after NY and London, according to a wealth report by the property consultancy Knight Frank.
At that time, Kyu frequently voiced the prediction that China would become more like Hong Kong.
Hong Kong island was ceded to Great Britain in 1842 in the Treaty of Nanjing. Authorities even glued the gaps between sidewalk paving stones in an effort to prevent them from being torn up and thrown by protesters.
Over the past five years under President Xi's tenure as Chinese leader and amid a ferocious crackdown on civil society and critics on the mainland, the squeeze on Hong Kong's autonomy has intensified, say diplomats, observers and activists.
"In simple words, we want that recognition so that we can further contribute to Hong Kong", he said.
At the banquet, Xi praised Hong Kong for its role in China's economic development, and told Hong Kongers to believe in themselves and China. China has shown an increased willingness to impose its will on Hong Kong, despite an agreement with the British to preserve the city's "high degree of autonomy" until 2047.
The State Department said the U.S. "support (s) the further development of Hong Kong's democratic systems, including the implementation of universal suffrage in accordance with the Basic Law" - a reference to its de facto constitution. This comes despite an explicit ban on the gathering by police, which informed the group in a letter that its principles are unconstitutional in Hong Kong, according to photos of the letter uploaded to the group's Facebook page.
Chinese cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou have taken over that role.
The Sino-British declaration said Hong Kong would be a "Special Administrative Region" of China, and would retain its freedoms and way of life for 50 years after the handover date on July 1, 1997.
They demanded the release of cancer-stricken Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who remains on medical parole on the mainland, and that China take responsibility for the brutal Tiananmen crackdown against student democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989.
Those divides are stoking tensions ahead of Xi's visit.
In many major Hong Kong newspapers, coverage of protests was eclipsed by exhaustive accounts of Xi's itinerary and quotes from him, at a time when the media stands accused of succumbing to pressure from Beijing.
In Hong Kong on Thursday, Xi reaffirmed his position on the "one country, two systems" policy that allows Beijing to govern Hong Kong from a distance, while leaving day-to-day affairs to local lawmakers. There's a perception in Beijing that Hong Kong sometimes acts like a spoiled child who doesn't appreciate its good fortune, said the official, who asked not to be identified while discussing internal deliberations. Numerous main players or leaders in the movement are academics and students. Hong Kong organizations sang classic Hong Kong pop songs to admire the spirit of Hong Kong and express their best wishes.
Wong, who was among two dozen demonstrators arrested on Wednesday for draping a black banner over a statue commemorating the handover, said Xi's warm words belied the government's "love to suppress" the city's values.
