BEIJING -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping is doubling down on his support for embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam as he seeks to project an image of assuredness amid political challenges from China's southern periphery.
Seated at the end of a long, narrow meeting room in Shanghai, Xi told Lam late Monday that the central government maintained a "high degree of trust in you and full acknowledgment of you and your governance team," according to a report Tuesday by the Chinese state broadcaster, which aired video of Xi smiling as he addressed Hong Kong's leader.
The meeting was meant to throw Beijing's weight behind Lam but may harden the pattern of intensifying confrontation between Hong Kong authorities and protesters who are calling for Lam's resignation and full democracy in the semiautonomous territory, among other demands.
Lam has struggled for five months to restore calm by ratcheting up the use of police force to counter worsening violence, which has featured attacks by protesters against establishments linked to, or seen as supportive of, mainland China.
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For weeks, speculation has swirled around whether Lam would be replaced or step down -- and, even if she wanted to, whether Beijing would allow it. Lam sparked the crisis in the former British colony this year when she fast-tracked a bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. Hong Kong people took to the streets to oppose what they saw as an attempt to diminish their autonomy and relative freedoms that do not exist in mainland China.
Xi told Lam that "ending violence and chaos and restoring order remains the most important task for Hong Kong." He praised her for "leading her government to fulfill its duties, striving to stabilize the situation and doing a lot of arduous work," the official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Lam told a news conference in Shanghai that Xi expressed "care and concern" during their brief meeting, along with support for measures taken by her government to end the crisis. She vowed that the government will strive to stamp out violence with strict law enforcement.
Lam said she was disturbed by mounting injuries during the protests, including an incident early Monday that left a 22-year-old university student sprawled in a pool of blood at a parking garage after police fired tear gas. Hospital officials said the victim was in critical condition.
Lam said investigations would be carried out to determine exactly what happened, and that the case drove home the government's message that violence must cease.
Television footage showed riot police firing tear gas at the building after objects were hurled down at the street at them when they chased off a mob. Minutes later, medical workers found the unconscious student on the second floor of the building.
Senior police official Suzette Foo said late Tuesday that the young man had reportedly fallen from an upper floor, but that it wasn't captured by security surveillance cameras. She didn't rule out the possibility that he was fleeing from tear gas but noted that police fired from a far distance. She also rebutted online claims that police pushed the victim down.
"It is an upsetting incident. We will certainly investigate this case fully and do all we can to find out the truth," Foo said.
[GALLERY: China’s Xi backs Lam’s leadership » arkansasonline.com/116china/]
Hundreds of black-clad demonstrators wearing Guy Fawkes masks -- which are protest symbols worldwide -- rallied Tuesday night in Hong Kong's busy Tsim Sha Tsui district to mark the one-month anniversary of a government ban on facial coverings at rallies. Some protesters vandalized shops and set up road barriers as they marched along streets.
"We are out to tell the government that we will not be cowed. We will fight to the end, Hong Kong people will not give up," a protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask said on local television. Police later fired a water cannon and quickly broke up the rally.
Earlier Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said Xi's meeting with Lam was a "vote of confidence" in the city's government, but pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo warned of a tougher stance by Beijing.
"The message to Hong Kong people is that we are with her, she has our backing and you better watch out," Mo told said.
Information for this article was contributed by Gerry Shih of The Washington Post and by Eileen Ng and Shanshan Wang of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/06/2019