Beijing's backing 'sends clear message to rioters'

President Xi Jinping's firm support of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the Hong Kong community, which Xi expressed in his meeting with Lam in Beijing, conveys an "encouraging message" to the SAR government and local communities as they unite to battle violence in the city, political experts in the city said.

The comments came on Monday after the president praised Lam's courage and commitment, and voiced the central government's full support of the city's efforts to curb the violence and restore social order.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, a leading think tank on Hong Kong affairs, said Xi's affirmation of Lam and the HKSAR government boosts the confidence and morale of the Hong Kong community as it seeks to end violence and restore order.

In the veteran political pundit's opinion, Xi's remarks, which emphasized the central government's firm stance on Hong Kong issues, which were in line with his remarks about the SAR made during the BRICS Summit in Brazil last month, show the central government's unswerving resolution to safeguard national security and the "one country, two systems" principle.

The city has been in turmoil since June, with more than 6,000 people arrested during the nearly 1,000 anti-government protests.

Xi's strong stance will send out a warning to rioters to stop stirring up trouble, and in the meantime, it sounded a clarion call for the city's patriotic forces to stand united to make a way out for Hong Kong and safeguard "one country, two systems", Lau said.

The central government will not give in to the challenges to the "one country, two systems" principle by foreign forces and separatists at home, nor will the central government give up on "one country, two systems" because of the current unrest in Hong Kong, he added.

Earlier Monday, Premier Li Ke-qiang also met Lam, saying the central government "fully acknowledges" the efforts made by the HKSAR. But Li also noted the harm the six-month-long unrest has done to the city's social and economic development, and urged continuous efforts by the SAR government to end the chaos and restore social order. During the meeting, Lam asked the central government to lend a helping hand to Hong Kong's development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative.

Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the Executive Council — the chief executive's policy advisory body — said the government should continue to explore feasible measures on its own to quell the violence and bring the city back on track, and the central government can only provide directional guidance to the HKSAR government.

Li's remarks show the central government is genuinely concerned about the current situation of Hong Kong and clearly understands what is happening in the city, Tong said.

The central government's acknowledgment of the SAR government's efforts and firm support of the city's police force will help Hong Kong bring the violence and chaos to an end and restore order, he added.

Echoing Tong's comments were Tam Yiu-chung, a Hong Kong deputy to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, who also stressed that the disturbance has dragged the city into a recession.

For example, he said, the city's tourism has suffered a huge blow during the anti-government protests.

According to latest figures from Hong Kong Tourism Board, the city received 3.31 million visitors in October, a slump of 43.7 percent from the same period in 2018.