In final speech, Hong Kong leader warns on independence push


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's outgoing leader warned in his farewell policy speech Wednesday that independence for the Chinese-controlled territory is not possible.

In his annual address to the legislature, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that Hong Kong is an "inalienable" part of China.

"There is absolutely no room for independence or any form of separation," he said.

The latter part of Leung's five-year term has been marked by growing separatist sentiment following massive 2014 pro-democracy protests that failed to sway the government's position on restricting electoral reform.

He said that under the "one country, two systems" framework that allows Hong Kong to have considerable autonomy and retain civil liberties not seen on mainland China, residents must comply with the city's Basic Law constitution "and safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity."

Last year, Leung's government took a tough stance against two newly elected lawmakers, taking legal action to disqualify them from office after they used their swearing-in ceremonies to mount apparent protests against China and express pro-independence views.

The unpopular Leung said last month he won't seek a second term in office after his current term ends in June, citing family reasons.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent World stories

Related topics

World
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast