China marks Hong Kong return anniversary

China’s President Jiang Zemin today marked Hong Kong’s first five years under Beijing’s rule by saying its capitalist ways are intact but that citizens should give more support to the mainland.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was sworn in to a second term today, and minutes later Jiang urged the former British colony to ‘‘make conscious efforts to safeguard the security and unification of the motherland and endeavour to defend its overall interests’’.

Outside the anniversary ceremonies - and out of earshot of the dignitaries - demonstrators demanded improved human rights in the mainland, an accounting for the 1989 massacre of students in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and an ‘‘end to the one-party dictatorship’’.

The protests were visible proof that Hong Kong retains Western-style freedoms unheard of in mainland China, although activists complained that police are making it more and more difficult to get their message out.

‘‘Down with Jiang Zemin’’, several dozen pro-democracy demonstrators chanted as they marched with a mock coffin condemning the Chinese president’s ‘‘murderous regime’’.

Police halted them at one point, saying they wanted to check the coffin for nails or spikes that could be used to hurt people.

Nearby, about 100 Falun Gong practitioners sat in lotus positions in a silent appeal for Beijing to stop its deadly crackdown on the meditation group outlawed in China as an ‘‘evil cult’’.

Falun Gong remains free to practice in Hong Kong but followers claimed that local immigration officials prevented more than 90 people from entering Hong Kong to attend protests yesterday and today.

Under cloudy morning skies, a Hong Kong police band solemnly hoisted the Chinese and Hong Kong flags to mark Hong Kong’s return from Britain to China on July 1, 1997.

The territory is now governed under an arrangement called ‘‘one country, two systems’’ that recognises Beijing’s sovereignty but allows for considerable local autonomy and freedoms.

Tung began his second term with a pledge to fix the ailing economy. The former shipping tycoon noted that ‘‘worries are weighing on the hearts of Hong Kong people’’ as the territory tries to bounce back from a slump that has pushed unemployment to a record 7.4%.

‘‘We need not be pessimistic,’’ Tung said. ‘‘All of us should realize that Hong Kong possesses the ability to overcome adversity.’’

Critics fear Hong Kong’s freedoms are being eroded.

Asked earlier about Falun Gong followers being turned away at the airport, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said no one was kept out over his or her ‘‘religious belief’’ but that during the run-up to the anniversary, police needed ‘‘to ensure that people entering Hong Kong would not cause trouble’’.

Jiang did not attend the morning flag raising though he went to Tung’s inauguration and called on Hong Kong people to give stronger support to Tung and to the mainland.

‘‘I hope the people of all circles in Hong Kong will do still a better job in adapting themselves to the new Hong Kong after 1997 and become better masters of Hong Kong and of our great motherland,’’ Jiang said.

Police scuffled with pro-democracy activists yesterday and confiscated bullhorns they were using to chant slogans against Jiang and Tung. No one appeared to have been seriously hurt and there were no immediate arrests.

The activists claimed authorities were trying to silence their message but police said they had received two complaints about the noise and were only trying to preserve order.

Critics say Tung remains highly unpopular and has shown no inclination to move Hong Kong toward full democracy.