Two visions seen in one Hong Kong

He took part in a series of lavish events, including a flag-raising ceremony, amid tight police security.

Much to Beijing’s chagrin, people still display British colonial emblems out of nostalgia and longing for a time they feel had faster economic growth and better opportunities.

Hong Kong marks 20th anniversary of return to Chinese rule but over 100,000 protesters expected to take to the streets.

Recurrent in the images are the themes of nationalism versus colonialism, justice and freedom under Beijing’s control, and the color red, a symbol of good fortune and Beijing support.

The CBC’s Elaine Chau came to Canada from Hong Kong with her family in 1992.

“I am convinced that the practice of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong will write a new chapter”, he said.

Lam, speaking in Mandarin instead of the Cantonese dialect widely used in Hong Kong and southern China, said she wanted to create a harmonious society and bring down astronomical housing prices that have also sown social discord.

The warning comes after the emergence of young activists calling for self-determination or even full independence for Hong Kong, which has infuriated Beijing. More than 1,000 mainland companies had floated in Hong Kong by the end of past year, accounting for 51 percent of the total.

He oversaw the swearing in of Ms Lam, the newly-elected chief executive of the territory, along with the rest of her cabinet.

Ahead of Mr Xi’s arrival, 26 pro-democracy activist were arrested and detained for trying to scale an iconic statue symbolising the take-over. They were demanding greater voting rights for Hong Kong, as well the immediate release of the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

While some Hong Kongers are downbeat over what they see as the increasing reliance of Hong Kong on the mainland, others believe the closer financial linkages between the two could prove to be symbiotic.

The president’s tight schedule Friday also included whirlwind meetings with local dignitaries, the HKSAR’s first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, the Macao Special Administrative Region’s chief executive Chui Sai On, and central government officials based in Hong Kong and executives of Hong Kong branches of mainland enterprises and institutions. Nine democracy protesters, including Joshua Wong and lawmaker “long hair” Leung Kwok-hung, were bundled into police vans while several pro-China groups remained, cheering loudly and waving red China flags.

Xi said the “one country, two systems” policy that allows Hong Kong to retain its legal, governance and capitalist economic structures separate from those of mainland China was “advanced first and foremost to realise and uphold national unity”.

Helicopters flew overhead as onlookers cheered at the ceremony in Golden Bauhinia Square, central Hong Kong.

Some protesters carried neon yellow umbrellas, in a symbolic invocation of pro-democracy protests in 2014 known as the Umbrella Revolution, the most significant popular challenge to Chinese rule in recent years.

President Xi travelled through the Hong Kong Link Road (HKLR) Scenic Hill Tunnel, which was connected in May this year, to inspect the HZMB HKLR. “We support the police’s law enforcement actions”.

China’s apparent willingness to renege on its obligations to Hong Kong was discussed by Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s final British governor, when he spoke to TIME last month.

He said Hong Kong continues to serve as an worldwide financial, trade and shipping hub, and the region’s indicators for political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption control are much higher than they were before 1997.