HONG KONG -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that Hong Kong cannot fall back into "chaos" after mass street protests in 2019, but insisted that Beijing would back the city's semi-autonomous "one country, two systems" governance style.
Xi made the comments at a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule under an agreement that promised a high level of autonomy and civil liberties for at least 50 years after the handover on July 1, 1997.
