--- title: Xi Jinping Visits Hong Kong for 20th Anniversary of Handover description: Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Hong Kong for a three-day visit as the city marks 20 years under Chinese rule. canonical: https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/ author: Kevin Lui article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-29T08:59:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:58:43.091Z article:section: World og:title: Xi Jinping Arrives in Hong Kong for the Handover Anniversary og:description: Protestors have called for greater political freedoms and autonomy from Beijing. og:url: https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3d22fef4694046b/6988d3e70b72e352426ee729/gettyimages-803079076.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Xi Jinping Visits Hong Kong For Its 20th Return Anniversary og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Xi Jinping Arrives in Hong Kong for the Handover Anniversary twitter:description: Protestors have called for greater political freedoms and autonomy from Beijing. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3d22fef4694046b/6988d3e70b72e352426ee729/gettyimages-803079076.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chinese President Xi Jinping Arrives in Hong Kong Ahead of 20th Handover Anniversary by [Kevin Lui / Hong Kong](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui / Hong Kong Jun 29, 2017 8:59 AM CUT  Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks on the tarmac of Hong Kong International Airport, June 29, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks on the tarmac of Hong Kong International Airport, June 29, 2017.Sheng Jiapeng—China News Service/VCG/Getty Images by [Kevin Lui / Hong Kong](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui / Hong Kong Jun 29, 2017 8:59 AM CUT Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong Thursday for a three-day visit — his first since assuming China’s top job in 2012 — as the former British colony prepares to mark[ 20 years](http://time.com/4829838/hong-kong-20-years-handover-timeline-photos/ "undefined") since the resumption of Chinese sovereignty. Greeted by the city’s unpopular top official, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and Leung’s successor [Carrie Lam](http://time.com/4713323/hong-kong-carrie-lam-chief-executive-leader/ "undefined"), as well as dozens of primary school students in red caps, Xi delivered brief, anodyne remarks after landing just before noon local time at Hong Kong International Airport. He said the aims of his trip were to show Beijing’s support for the semi-autonomous territory, and to help plan for its future. “The Central People’s Government has always given Hong Kong Special Administrative Region its strong backing,” Xi added said. “We will support development and livelihood improvement in Hong Kong, as always.” He also mentioned the “one country, two systems” arrangement — under which Hong Kong’s freewheeling capitalist economy, independent judiciary, as well as its many freedoms, are supposed to be maintained till at least 2047.  Xi Jinping, China's president, left, and Peng Liyuan, China's first lady, disembark from a plane at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, June 29, 2017\. Xi arrived Thursday for his first visit to the financial hub since becoming China's top leader in 2012. Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg via Getty Images “Together with all sectors of Hong Kong, we would like to look back at the extraordinary journey of the past 20 years, sum up what we’ve learned, and look to the future to ensure that ‘one country, two systems’ can \[remain\] stable and go far,” Xi said. After the address, he left in a government sedan without taking questions from journalists on the tarmac. One question pertained to [Liu Xiaobo](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2036683%5F2036767%5F2036830,00.html "undefined"), the dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been [diagnosed with](http://time.com/4832503/china-nobel-laureate-liu-xiabo-parole/ "undefined") terminal liver cancer. **Read More:** [_Chris Patten, the Last Colonial Governor, Recalls the City’s Handover_](http://time.com/4832489/hong-kong-20th-anniversary-handover-chris-patten/ "undefined") Xi’s visit comes at [a contentious moment](http://time.com/4836134/hong-kong-20-anniversary-china/ "undefined"), as Hong Kong grapples with its sense of identity and role within China. Many in the territory, particularly the younger generation, [do not view themselves as Chinese](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-anniversary-identity-idUSKBN19G013 "undefined") but as Hongkongers, and regard Beijing as an alien power bent on eroding Hong Kong’s precious freedoms. There have been calls for self-determination and even independence. In 2014, the city was rocked by [months of massive street protests](http://time.com/3632739/hong-kong-umbrella-revolution-photos/ "undefined") — dubbed the Umbrella Revolution — as tens of thousands of demonstrators called for greater political freedom. The Hong Kong National Party vowed to go ahead with a rally Friday to “mourn the 20th anniversary of the fall of Hong Kong,” despite official warnings. Two protests have also been staged at Golden Bauhinia Square, next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, where Lam is expected to be sworn in on Saturday. The square houses a tall sculpture of a stylized _Bauhinia blakeana_, Hong Kong’s official flower — a gift given by Beijing in 1997. **Read More:** [_Hong Kong 20th Anniversary: Portraits from Settler Society_](http://time.com/4834361/hong-kong-identity-20th-anniversary-handover-photos/ "undefined") After briefly shrouding the sculpture in black cloth on Monday morning, a group of activists — led by prominent young democracy campaigner Joshua Wong and legislator Nathan Law — scaled it late Wednesday for a few hours, draping it with a banner that read “Release Liu Xiaobo unconditionally; Hong Kong people want true universal suffrage.” Police took them away on grounds of “public nuisance.” Six members of the group had to be hauled away using a fire truck ladder. According to a statement Thursday on Wong’s Facebook page, police had yet to take his testimony after overnight detention. “I’m extremely discontented with the arrangement and believe it’s deliberately made to delay time, stopping more protests from erupting,” he stated. In anticipation of Xi’s visit, local police have put Hong Kong on lockdown, [deploying](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2093028/details-revealed-massive-hong-kong-police-operation-protect "undefined") over 10,000 officers to guard against protests and demonstrations. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/"},"headline":"Chinese President Xi Jinping Arrives in Hong Kong Ahead of 20th Handover Anniversary","datePublished":"2017-06-29T08:59:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:43.091Z","description":"After two decades of Chinese sovereignty, many Hongkongers still do not regard themselves as Chinese and demand greater autonomy from Beijing","url":"https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/","keywords":["Hong Kong topic","China","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3d22fef4694046b/6988d3e70b72e352426ee729/gettyimages-803079076.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui / Hong Kong"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb3d22fef4694046b/6988d3e70b72e352426ee729/gettyimages-803079076.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Xi Jinping Visits Hong Kong For Its 20th Return Anniversary","caption":"Xi Jinping Visits Hong Kong For Its 20th Return Anniversary","creditText":"Sheng Jiapeng—China News Service/VCG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hong-kong/","name":"Hong Kong topic"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4838555/xi-jinping-visit-hong-kong-20th-anniversary/","name":"Chinese President Xi Jinping Arrives in Hong Kong Ahead of 20th Handover Anniversary"}}]}] ```