Xi Jinping backs HK Chief Executive, rejects demand of protesters

BEIJING: For the first time, Chinese President Xi Jinping today backed the embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive for his efforts to safeguard the rule of law and maintain social order in the Asian financial hub and rejected the demand of pro-democracy protesters to sack him.

Leung Chun-ying, a Chinese backed real-estate tycoon who is on the firing line for over a month from Hong Kong's street protests, met Xi on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meet here.

Xi, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist party extended support to Leung and his government's efforts to safeguard the rule of law and maintain social order in Hong Kong without directly without directly referring to pro-democracy protests.

The central government "fully affirms and supports" the efforts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) chief executive and the HKSAR government to govern in line with law, especially their great deal of work to safeguard the authority of rule of law and maintain social order, Xi said, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the first time that the Chinese leadership at the highest level backed Leung even though some of the state-run publications have stated in editorial commentaries earlier.

Thousands of students are carrying out a prolonged and unrelenting agitation by blocking a number of key roads in the former British colony, the biggest since it merged with China in 1997.

The agitation is aimed at a new rule brought in by Chinese Parliament to screen candidates to take part in the first direct election of the Chief Executive in 2017. They want the rule to vet the candidates to be removed.

China so far rejected the demand for repeal of the rule even though officials in Hong Kong held one round of unsuccessful talks with the student protesters.

The agitators also sought meeting with the Chinese leadership. There is no reaction from Beijing so far in this.