Stern warning in Hong Kong on threats to China’s rule

HONG KONG — Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents marched through the streets in defense of their cherished freedoms Saturday, in the face of what many see as a growing threat from mainland China, exactly two decades after the handover from British rule.

Earlier in the day, China’s president, Xi Jinping, marked the 20th anniversary of the handover with his sternest warning yet to the territory’s people:

Many people in Hong Kong accused China of violating the territory’s autonomy in 2015 by seizing five publishers who were putting out gossipy books about the Chinese leadership and allegedly distributing them on the mainland.

Many people are worried about a steady erosion of press freedom, and that in a range of areas China is increasingly determined to call the shots.

“Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government and the authority of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or use Hong Kong for infiltration or sabotage activities against the mainland, is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible,” he said.

A poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed residents attach even greater importance to judicial independence and freedom of the press than to economic development.

Many protesters called for the release of Nobel laureate and democracy icon Liu Xiabo, imprisoned in China since 2008 and last week taken to a hospital under close guard for treatment of advanced liver cancer.