Chinese premier says Hong Kong not yet out of its ‘dilemma’

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in Beijing on Monday, saying the Asian financial hub was not yet out of its “dilemma” with the city’s economy facing an unprecedented and challenging situation.

Li met with Lam during a regular duty visit where she is also due to hold a potentially pivotal meeting with President Xi Jinping.

The meetings come after Hong Kong police fired tear gas in late night street clashes with protesters on Sunday as the former British colony’s worst political crisis in decades drags on into a seventh month.

“The SAR (special administrative region) government must continue its efforts, end violence and stop the chaos in accordance with the law and restore order,” Li said in his meeting with Lam, the opening remarks of which were broadcast by Cable TV.

Anti-government protests in the city since June have posed one of the biggest populist challenges to Xi’s rule. The unrest has also complicated ties between China and the United States at a time of heightened tensions, including over trade.

Lam’s visit comes amid speculation in local media that talks with Xi could yield fresh directives on the city’s political crisis, including a possible cabinet reshuffle.

The two had previously met in Shanghai in early November when Xi expressed “high trust” in Lam despite the turmoil.

Lam, however, appeared to play down the prospects of a cabinet reshuffle before she left, saying the first task was to curb violence and restore order, while seeking to engage in more dialogue with the public.

Late on Sunday, groups of masked youths – angered by what they see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 – blocked roads around Mong Kok district, prompting police to fire multiple rounds of tear gas and baton charge crowds.

It was the first time in nearly two weeks that tear gas had been deployed by police.

Fires were lit and traffic lights smashed, while one student reporter for Baptist University was hit in the face by a police projectile and had to be hospitalized, local television footage showed.

Small bands of protesters marched through several malls, blocking entrances, smashing glass, and chanting slogans including “fight for freedom”. Many shops in affected malls closed early after battalions of riot police stormed in, pepper spraying crowds and making multiple arrests.

Despite the protesters’ demands and anti-China rhetoric, China maintains it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula granting Hong Kong a large degree of autonomy and freedoms denied other cities in the mainland.