The president on Tuesday also called on Hong Kong to proactively align with the nation’s 15th five-year plan, offered his full recognition of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s work, and urged his administration to handle the aftermath of the city’s deadliest fire in decades with “consistent and continuous effort”.
Lee, who is on an annual duty visit to Beijing, met state leaders just a day after Lai was found guilty on all charges he faced under the national security law.
The chief executive told the media after the closed-door meeting that he had reported the verdict to Xi and pledged to uphold national security steadfastly.
“President Xi heard about what we did, and he affirmed his strong recognition of our efforts,” Lee said. “He also confirmed his strong support for both the government and the judiciary to uphold the duty to protect national security.”
The judgment faced heavy international scrutiny, with US President Donald Trump calling on Xi to free Lai and the British government summoning China’s ambassador to protest.
