Macau: President Xi Jinping visited a drizzly Macau on Friday for the 15th anniversary of the gambling hub’s return to Chinese rule, with onlookers barred from using umbrellas the emblem of democracy protests in nearby Hong Kong.
The 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.
Authorities were on guard on Friday for signs of dissent, with reporters on the airport tarmac waiting for Mr Jinping 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,” a Hong Kong-based reporter, who was there, said.
