Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a pro-democracy heckler Sunday at the swearing in of Hong Kong's new leader, an incident underscoring rising tensions between Beijing and the semiautonomous territory 15 years after it returned to Chinese rule.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets later in the day in an annual protest that is an occasion for ordinary people to air their grievances over a range of issues. There is rising public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the southern Chinese financial center.
Self-made millionaire Leung Chun-ying became Hong Kong's third chief executive on the 15th anniversary of China regaining control of the city after more than a century of British colonial control. There were sporadic scuffles between demonstrators and police outside the convention center where his inauguration took place.
A demonstrator who tried to interrupt Hu as he began his address was bundled away by security officials. The man, one of the guests invited to the inauguration, waved a small flag and yelled slogans calling for China's leaders to reverse their condemnation of the brutal June 4, 1989 crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square. He also called for an end to one-party rule in China before security agents swiftly pounced. Hu took no notice and continued to read his speech but the incident marred what was supposed to be a carefully orchestrated visit intended to emphasize strengthening ties between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Leung, a 57-year-old police officer's son who became a millionaire, replaces career bureaucrat Donald Tsang, who took office in 2005 and is barred from another term.
Leung takes over Hong Kong's top job amid swelling public anger over a yawning income gap, skyrocketing property prices and rising unease about mainland China's growing influence on the semiautonomous region.
"We will focus our energies on major and pressing issues," said Leung, who outlined plans to even out Hong Kong's widening inequality. He vowed, for example, to provide more affordable housing and land for property development, though he also said "there is no need for a major reversal of policy."
But Leung could find it hard to push through his social reforms because he takes office with an approval rating far lower than his predecessors, reflecting not only mounting public frustration but also a recent corruption scandal involving illegal additions on his mansion.
Leung was chosen as chief executive in March, winning 689 votes from a 1,200-seat committee of business elites who mostly voted according to Beijing's wishes. Hong Kong's 3.4 million registered voters, who can vote for neighborhood councilors and half of all lawmakers, had no say.
Calls for democracy have been catalyzed by the way in which Leung got his job and by corruption scandals surrounding his predecessor. Ordinary Hong Kongers fear that the political system in place since July 1, 1997 has resulted in the city's billionaire tycoons having too much influence on senior government officials.
Beijing has pledged that Hong Kong could elect its own leader in 2017 and all legislators by 2020 at the earliest, but no road map has been laid out.
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