(TibetanReview.net, Dec 22, 2014) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has dismissed as “misguide approach” the demand by activists in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Hong and Macao for open election to their Chief Executives’ post. Xi made the remark Dec 20 as he ended a two-day visit to Macao, reported the AFP Dec 21.
“We must both adhere to the ‘one China’ principle and respect the difference of the two systems,” Xi has said at the inauguration of Macau’s chief executive Fernando Chui, who was selected for a second term by a pro-Beijing committee in Aug 2014. “At no time should we focus only on one side to the neglect of the other. This is the only way leading to sound and steady progress. Otherwise a misguided approach from the beginning, just like putting one’s left foot into the right shoe, would lead us to nowhere,” Xi was further quoted as saying.
Dozens of protesters marched through Macau’s historic centre Dec 20 afternoon as Xi wrapped up his visit, just days after the police cleared the last remaining protest sites in neighbouring Hong Kong, the report added. The Hong Kong protest had lasted 79 days, with the protesters vowing never to give up.
In Macao, the report said, residents of all ages walked in the middle of the road through the historic district shouting: “We want universal suffrage” through megaphones, some wrapped in banners and others with slogans painted across their faces.
A small group of protesters attempted to walk to where Xi was staying while holding yellow umbrellas, the symbol of the Hong Kong democracy protesters’ resistance. Police stopped them, saying the area was “restricted”, the report added.