CHINA'S President Xi Jinping displayed a velvet glove at the beginning of his three-day visit to Hong Kong, saying upon his arrival here last Thursday that he offered good wishes on the 20th anniversary of the former British colony's return to China and the support of the central government to ensure the city's long-term success.

But the iron fist beneath quickly became visible, and in a major speech delivered before his departure he warned against crossing the "red line" of Chinese sovereignty or challenging the power of the central government. Any attempt "to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line, and is absolutely impermissible", he declared.

On the positive side, he gave assurances that China's policy of "one country, two systems", under which socialist policies are not practised in Hong Kong, would not change.