Regional authorities forbid onlookers from using emblem of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters during leader’s arrival

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Xi Jinping has visited a drizzly Macau for the 15th anniversary of its return to China with onlookers barred from using umbrellas – the emblem of democracy protests in nearby Hong Kong.

The Chinese president’s two-day trip to the former Portuguese enclave comes just days after Hong Kong police cleared the last of three camps where protesters had spent nearly three months demanding free leadership elections for the city.

But in the spirit of Hong Kong’s Occupy movement which gripped the city from late September, hundreds of pro-democracy protesters are planning a march on Saturday from Macau’s historic city centre.

Authorities were on guard on Friday for signs of dissent, with reporters at the airport waiting for Xi not allowed to hold umbrellas, and handed raincoats instead.

“They said you couldn’t open umbrellas at the airport because it would affect the flights,” said a Hong Kong-based reporter who was among up to 40 journalists at the scene.

Another reporter said airport authorities had explained it was too windy to safely unfurl an umbrella.

Despite the light rain, no one in the official receiving party used them either.

However, dozens of enthusiastic elementary school pupils braved the cold weather to wave Chinese and Macau flags, and posies of flowers, to greet Xi.

The president’s visit is intended to drive home the message that the semi-autonomous territory needs to diversify away from casinos, which have seen revenues dive owing to a national anti-corruption drive and a stuttering economy

“I believe that under the one country two systems and the basic law, Macau definitely will be increasingly stable and better as time passes,” Xi told reporters after stepping off the plane, referring to the territory’s semi-autonomous status.

He also gave his backing to Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, pledging “full trust” in him.

A handful of protesters holding umbrellas were stopped by police in the afternoon when they attempted to walk to where Xi was staying.

“Why does such a powerful authority have to be afraid of a simple symbol of the yellow umbrella?” pro-democracy activist Jason Chao said.

Around a dozen police officers, some on motorcycles had kept watch on the four umbrella-wielding protesters.

Several Hong Kong activists including veteran lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung were reportedly turned back at Macau’s ferry terminal as they held up yellow umbrellas and a large yellow banner which read “I want real universal suffrage, have you received the message, Xi Jinping?”

Macau is the only part of China where casino gambling is legal, and after the sector was opened up to foreign competition in 2002 it became a paradise for high rollers, overtaking Las Vegas as the world’s gaming capital in terms of revenue.

But casinos saw their worst drop ever in October as China’s big spenders are hit by a corruption crackdown, as well as a slumping mainland economy.