China's Xi presides over muted Hong Kong handover anniversary

Chinese leader Xi Jinping presided Friday over tightly choreographed celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain, with once annual demonstrations silenced and a massive security presence in force.

The ceremony, which includes the inauguration of Hong Kong's new government, is a chance for the Chinese Communist Party to showcase its power over the city after unleashing a harsh crackdown that has crushed the business hub's democracy movement. 

It is Xi's first trip out of mainland China since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and his first to Hong Kong since massive protests overwhelmed the city in 2019.

"After the storms, Hong Kong has been reborn from the fire and emerged with robust vitality," Xi said upon arriving by high-speed train on Thursday afternoon. 

Friday's celebrations began with a flag-raising ceremony at the city's Victoria Harbour, complete with a military flypast and a flotilla spraying plumes of water.

Friday also marks the halfway point of the 50-year governance model agreed by Britain and China under which the city would keep some autonomy and freedoms, known as One Country Two Systems. 

For decades after the handover, in parallel to the official celebrations, every July 1 hundreds of thousands of residents would take part in a march to voice political and social grievances.