Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, arrived in Beijing on Saturday, marking her first visit to China's capital since her party suffered a severe blow in Hong Kong's elections last month.

During the chief executive's annual duty visit to Beijing, Lam is set to discuss the political and economic situation of Hong Kong with Chinese government officials and sit down with China's President Xi Jinping on Monday.

Lam's visit comes amid nearly yearlong protests and unrest led by pro-democracy activists, which have left the economy reeling. Scattered protests took place in Hong Kong on Sunday while Lam was away, with scuffles breaking out in various shopping malls. Riot police used pepper spray on protesters after vandalism occurred and detained various individuals.

Lams latest visit has prompted speculation of a change in leadership after Lam's pro-establishment bloc suffered a major upset in local elections that saw a landslide win for pro-democracy parties.

There were further pro-democracy and anti-inequality protests last week during which thousands took to the streets in peaceful demonstrations.

Lam stresses open dialogue in Facebook post

Lam stressed the importance of an open dialogue between the community and officials in a post on social media platform Facebook on Saturday morning.

She said that her governing team would continue to pursue "different formats of dialogue to listen to citizens sincerely" and that "our sincerity to have dialogue with citizens has not changed."

Watch video 01:47 Share Helping Hong Kong's activists Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3URR5 Supporting Hong Kong's activists behind the scenes

Just this week, Lam said a Cabinet reshuffle was not an "immediate task" after the election defeat and she would focus her efforts on restoring law and order in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong teen protesters arrested over murder

Just before Lam arrived in Beijing, police arrested five teenagers on Friday in connection with the murder of a 70-year-old man during the increasingly heated and violent anti-government protests in November that ended in a siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The teenagers — three males and two females, aged 15 to 18 — were arrested on Friday on suspicion of murder, rioting and wounding and have been detained, awaiting further investigation, police said in a statement.

Footage of the incident shows rival groups of protesters throwing bricks at each other, during which the man was hit. He later died.

How often does Carrie Lam travel to Beijing?

Lam last met with Xi at the start of November, when he gave her his backing.

Hong Kong's chief executive meets annually with Chinese officials after the territory was handed back to Beijing in 1997 following the end of British colonial rule.

Hong Kong operates under China's "one country, two systems" principle, which allows it a greater degree of freedom to administer its own affairs. A recent cleanup effort by the Chinese military on the streets of Hong Kong after a period of severe unrest between protesters and police sparked speculation of increased Chinese intervention in the special administrative area.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Defiance Despite official calls to disperse, demonstrators continued to march on Wednesday. They overturned police barriers and stood their ground even when confronted with pepper spray and a threat by police to use force if they continued to oppose their orders.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Homage Some protesters left umbrellas on the police barricades, an homage to the "Occupy Democracy" movement that began in 2014. The massive, months-long campaign was prompted by constitutional reforms that allowed Beijing to approve candidates for Hong Kong elections.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill One million strong Organizers say that over 1 million people have joined in the demonstrations, which blocked two main highways near government headquarters on Wednesday. Most of the protesters are students and young people. Students were boycotting classes to attend the rallies.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill A question of autonomy and rights Activists have decried the move to allow extradition to China, because of Beijing's poor human rights and legal record. Many in Hong Kong are also upset by the creeping authoritarianism in the city, after they were promised autonomy when the territory was given back to China from the UK in 1997.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill Out in force Thousands of officers, including riot police, have been deployed throughout the city. Over the weekend, demonstrators hurled bottles at security forces and tried to push their way into the parliament building, but were blocked.

Hong Kong demonstrators protest extradition bill One country, two systems China has long promised Hong Kong self-rule under the "one country, two systems" motto. But for those in the sprawling city, the extradition bill is the latest in a long line of examples of creeping Chinese control.



kmm/rc (Reuters/AFP)

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