Friday 30 June 2017

President Xi Jinping Less Popular Than Manchester United Stars in Hong Kong

Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers made headlines and caught the attention in Hong Kong ... turning more heads and smartphones than President Xi Jinping !!


On Hong Kong's MTR






Manchester United legends Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt travel by metro to five-a-side in Hong Kong

  • The Manchester United quintet are in Asia for a veterans five-a-side match 
  • They each received t-shirts with caricatures drawn on the front
  • Gary Neville later shared a picture from the tallest bar in the world  
It has been a long time since Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt needed public transport to arrive at a match they were playing in.
But out in Hong Kong, the quintet used the metro to head to a veterans five-a-side match.
The Manchester United legends may have called time on their professional playing careers but they still pose quite the threat as a five-a-side combination.

Phil Neville is in Hong Kong with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and brother Gary
Phil Neville is in Hong Kong with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and brother Gary

The players were given a warm welcome from the United supporters in Hong Kong
The players were given a warm welcome from the United supporters in Hong Kong

The five United legends have headed to Hong Kong for a five-a-side veterans match
The five United legends have headed to Hong Kong for a five-a-side veterans match

Phil Neville shared a picture on his Instagram account of the group heading out on their travels, captioning the image 'Road trip with these guys!!!'
And he tweeted the welcome they had, with fans lining up to catch a glimpse of their heroes donning United attire and waving flags. 
And his older brother Gary shared some pictures of t-shirts that they had been presented with, featuring caricatures of each player on the front.

He seemed a little underwhelmed with his own t-shirt, writing 'not nice' alongside the post he uploaded on Instagram.
But overall, he seemed to be very much enjoying his time in Asia. Neville later published a picture of an impressive view from what he said is the 'tallest bar in the world, apparently'.
That venue would be the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong hotel, where the cocktail bar is on the 118th floor and 1,608 feet above sea level. 

Gary Neville shared pictures of t-shirts some of the players were given in Hong Kong
 Ryan Giggs appears confused as usual !!


Neville also visited 'the tallest bar in the world' - the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong hotel
Neville also visited 'the tallest bar in the world' - the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong hotel
 





President Xi Jinping looks to Hong Kong’s future, after ‘extraordinary’ post-handover journey

Maiden official trip to the city will see the president attend celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China, as well as the swearing in of city’s next chief executive
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 29 June, 2017, 11:59am
UPDATED : Thursday, 29 June, 2017, 7:31pm
President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover and set out his aim to usher the city into a new future, drawing from the experiences of the “extraordinary journey” of the past two decades.
Xi, who is making his first visit since becoming president in 2013, was last in the city in 2008, just before Beijing hosted the Olympic games.
At the airport on Thursday, he said: “I step on Hong Kong soil once again after nine years and I feel very happy as Hong Kong has always been in my heart.”
He set out three purposes for his three-day tour of the city that will see him preside over the inauguration of a new government as part of a packed programme in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the return of the city to Chinese rule.
First, he said, he hoped to convey his wishes and congratulations for Hong Kong’s 20th anniversary of handover. “I wholeheartedly wish Hong Kong will create a brighter future.”

Second, his tour of Hong Kong aimed to show the central government’s support for the city. “For 20 years the central government has always been a strong backing for Hong Kong. We will always support Hong Kong’s development and improvement of livelihood,” he said.
Third, he said his visit would be about mapping out a future for the city and ensuring “one country, two systems” would be “smooth and can be carried forward”.
“The central government will work with all sectors of Hong Kong society to look back at Hong Kong’s extraordinary journey in the past 20 years, sum up the experience and look forward to the future.”
He added: “I look forward to feeling Hong Kong’s new atmosphere and new changes.”
Xi’s arrival remarks at the airport in effect set the agenda for the visit. His speeches in the coming days can be expected to elaborate on the three themes, especially on the future direction for the city after 20 years of pursuing the experiment of “one country, two systems”.
The system was one set for Hong Kong by the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping when China negotiated for the city’s return to the mainland from the British who had ruled it for 150 years.
Xi was greeted by Hong Kong’s outgoing leader Leung Chun-ying and wife and Cabinet ministers. In attendance also was Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the incoming leader of the city who was elected on March 26 and will be sworn in on July 1.


Apart from meeting the outgoing and incoming local governments, Xi is expected to view the latest infrastructure developments in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and West Kowloon Cultural District, which are both still under construction.
Xi, who is also the head of China’s military, will also inspect the People’s Liberation Army’s local garrison in Shek Kong, a location away from the city centre, deep in Hong Kong’s highest mountain Tai Mo Shan.

Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, will visit a kindergarten in Kowloon Tong, while Xi will meet a group of young people in the Junior Police Call, a group tasked with fostering links between police and youth.
Xi’s maiden tour of Hong Kong as president follows a night of protest at the Golden Bauhinia Square, the site where an iconic flag raising ceremony will be held. More than 20 protesters, including student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung have been arrested.
Hong Kong police stepped up security to ensure the safety of Xi and his entourage.
More than a hundred journalists went through security checks before arriving on the apron at the city’s airport ahead of Xi’s arrival.
Dozens of umbrellas were confiscated by airport security guards, who said umbrellas were always banned on the apron. It started to rain lightly at 11am.
The police motorcade arrived on the apron at 10.55am.

The flag-waving team – comprising dozens of adults and primary school pupils – had arrived at about 11.30am, with the national and SAR flags on their hands. There were two huge red banners which read “warmly welcome President Xi Jinping and the lady to visit Hong Kong” and “warmly celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to the motherland”.
The waiting media asked two questions, one on political prisoner Liu Xiaobo, recently released on medical grounds, and the other on interpretation of Basic Law but Xi left without answering them.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2100499/president-xi-jinping-lands-hong-kong-three-day-handover

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