HONG KONG—Hong Kong protesters angry at a visit by a top Beijing official shouted pro-democracy slogans Wednesday but were kept well away from a mission seen as an attempt to bridge the city’s growing political divide.
The three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China’s communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official for four years. It comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip.
Although Zhang’s trip is ostensibly for an economic conference, it is widely being seen as a conciliatory effort and a chance to gauge whether Beijing should back the city’s unpopular leader Leung Chun-ying to stand for a second term.
Frustration over lack of political reform has sparked a fledgling independence movement, condemned by authorities in both Hong Kong and mainland China.
During a speech at the conference on China’s “One Belt, One Road” international trade and investment plan Wednesday, Zhang urged Hong Kong to play a bigger role in China’s national development strategy.
“I hope that Hong Kong, with a broader mind and vision, will fully seize the major opportunities of Belt and Road,” he said.
He emphasized the shared Cantonese culture of southern China and Hong Kong, an apparent attempt to ease fears Beijing is trying to erode the city’s separate identity.
Hongkongers speak Cantonese rather than the Mandarin dominant on the mainland, and there are concerns the language is being squeezed out.
Zhang will meet pro-democracy lawmakers Wednesday evening in a rare move, after promising to listen to political demands from across society.
But opponents have criticized Zhang for what they called “tokenistic” diplomacy and slammed Hong Kong authorities for imposing a security lock-down on the Wanchai district for his visit.
Roads around Zhang’s hotel and the convention centre hosting the economic conference have been cordoned off with huge water-filled barricades and protesters funnelled into designated areas, out of sight.
Around 100 of them marched to one of the areas Wednesday morning before the conference started, vastly outnumbered by police of whom thousands have been mobilized to protect Zhang.