ID :
202173
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 15:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202173
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Chinese vice premier shuns protesters before leaving H.K.
HONG KONG, Aug. 18 Kyodo -
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang wound up a three-day visit to Hong Kong on Thursday, shunning protesters gathered at the two venues he visited on the last day of his stay in the former British colony.
About 100 activists gathered outside Hong Kong's new government headquarters to protest China's human rights record and political crackdown but police kept them out of Li's view.
Earlier, police also kept protesters away when Li visited the University of Hong Kong to mark the centennial anniversary of the territory's oldest institution of higher learning.
Li, widely tipped to be the next Chinese premier, headed to the airport immediately after a plaque-unveiling ceremony inside the government complex without giving a speech.
The protesters, cordoned off in a protest zone set up across the street from the government complex, shouted slogans without getting a glimpse of the Chinese leader. The protesters also had minor scuffles with the police.
During his visit to the University of Hong Kong, Li complimented the institution for the role it played in advancing education and helping China open itself to the world.
''HKU is a university built for China and the world,'' Li said in an address he delivered in English before an audience of about 200 invited guests including political figures, business leaders, university donors and a select group of students.
''It has become a key higher education institution in China, playing an increasingly important role in China's development and its integration with the world,'' he said.
Security was tight during Li's stay in the territory, with a heavy police presence at all the venues he visited.
Still, Hong Kong residents are legally allowed to stage protests and to call for the end of the Communist Party's one-party rule in China and to commemorate lives lost in a bloody military crackdown on a pro-democracy protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June of 1989.
The craving for democracy is clear even after the territory was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997. Calls also continue for the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and the end of house arrest of Liu's wife, and for an end to the persecution of rights advocates in China.
''I have full confidence in Hong Kong's future development,'' Li told reporters before boarding his flight, without taking any questions. ''Hopefully we have a chance to meet again.''
Li was visiting Hong Kong for the first time since he was appointed vice premier in March 2008.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang wound up a three-day visit to Hong Kong on Thursday, shunning protesters gathered at the two venues he visited on the last day of his stay in the former British colony.
About 100 activists gathered outside Hong Kong's new government headquarters to protest China's human rights record and political crackdown but police kept them out of Li's view.
Earlier, police also kept protesters away when Li visited the University of Hong Kong to mark the centennial anniversary of the territory's oldest institution of higher learning.
Li, widely tipped to be the next Chinese premier, headed to the airport immediately after a plaque-unveiling ceremony inside the government complex without giving a speech.
The protesters, cordoned off in a protest zone set up across the street from the government complex, shouted slogans without getting a glimpse of the Chinese leader. The protesters also had minor scuffles with the police.
During his visit to the University of Hong Kong, Li complimented the institution for the role it played in advancing education and helping China open itself to the world.
''HKU is a university built for China and the world,'' Li said in an address he delivered in English before an audience of about 200 invited guests including political figures, business leaders, university donors and a select group of students.
''It has become a key higher education institution in China, playing an increasingly important role in China's development and its integration with the world,'' he said.
Security was tight during Li's stay in the territory, with a heavy police presence at all the venues he visited.
Still, Hong Kong residents are legally allowed to stage protests and to call for the end of the Communist Party's one-party rule in China and to commemorate lives lost in a bloody military crackdown on a pro-democracy protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June of 1989.
The craving for democracy is clear even after the territory was handed over to Chinese rule in 1997. Calls also continue for the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and the end of house arrest of Liu's wife, and for an end to the persecution of rights advocates in China.
''I have full confidence in Hong Kong's future development,'' Li told reporters before boarding his flight, without taking any questions. ''Hopefully we have a chance to meet again.''
Li was visiting Hong Kong for the first time since he was appointed vice premier in March 2008.
