The Latest: Xi vows no tolerance for anti-China acts
HONG KONG (AP) - The Latest on the swearing-in of Hong Kong's new leader (all times local):
10:45 a.m.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is vowing no tolerance for any acts seen as jeopardizing Hong Kong and China's stability and security.
In his address during a swearing-in ceremony for Carlie Lam, the semi-autonomous Chinese region's chief executive, Xi pledged Beijing's support for the "one country, two systems" blueprint under which Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
However, he said Hong Kong had to do more to shore up security and boost patriotic education, apparently referencing pieces of legislation long-delayed by popular opposition.
And he warned that anyone threatening China or Hong Kong's political stability would be crossing a red line and their actions would be considered "absolutely impermissible"- words certain to concern those already wary of tightening restrictions on political life in the city.
Xi was due to return to Beijing midday Saturday. His three-day visit aimed at stirring Chinese patriotism had prompted a massive police presence. Protesters fear Beijing's ruling Communist Party is increasing its control over the city's political and civil affairs, undermining a pledge to permit it retain its own legal and other institutions for 50 years.
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9:15 a.m.
Carrie Lam has been sworn in as Hong Kong's new leader on the city's 20th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule.
Lam became the semi-autonomous Chinese region's chief executive Saturday in a ceremony presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Lam and her Cabinet swore to serve China and Hong Kong and to uphold the Basic Law, the territory's mini-constitution.
The life-long bureaucrat was selected through a process decried by critics as fundamentally undemocratic, involving just a sliver of a percent of Hong Kong's more than 3 million voters.
A little over a kilometer (mile) away, a small group of activists linked to the pro-democracy opposition clashed with police and counter-protesters. Protesters fear Beijing's ruling Communist Party is increasing its control over the financial center's affairs.