Xi Defends China’s Model for Hong Kong After Restive Year

President Xi Jinping used his New Year’s Eve address to defend China’s system for running Hong Kong, in an unusually high-profile acknowledgment of the Asian financial center’s political turmoil.

The Chinese president expressed concern for Hong Kong, which has been gripped by more than six months of often violent protests by activists demanding greater autonomy from Beijing. Xi argued the success of neighboring Macau, which he visited earlier this month, shows that the “one country, two systems” framework used to govern both former European colonies “is fully applicable, achievable and popular.”