Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang warns that protests erupting in Hong Kong put the region’s prosperity at stake.
“Since the return of Hong Kong, the central government has always applied the guideline of one land, two systems,” he says in a rebuff to protesters calling for freedom to choose the territory’s next chief. “There has been no change in this policy in practice.”
Speaking to reporters after talks in Berlin, he says, “The preservation of Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability is not just in China’s interest, but even more in the interests of the population of the metropolis.
“I am convinced that Hong Kong people in their wisdom will be in a position – and the government of the special administrative region will exercise the powers – to preserve the prosperity of the city and its social stability.”
GNA
