Xi supports Hong Kong's Lam at meeting

Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam won praise from Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting Monday in Shanghai to talk about the city that has been besieged by protests for months since legislators first tried to consider an extradition bill.

While the extradition bill from the former British colony to mainland China was withdrawn, the protests by then had morphed into a pro-democracy movement which has now extended to 22 consecutive weekends.

Xi met with Lam at the second China International Import Expo. Xi said the Hong Kong government under Lam had "fully discharged its duties" and has tried to strive to "stabilize the situation and improve the social atmosphere, and has done a lot of hard work."

Xi said that ending the violence connected with the protest was a high priority and said he had a "high degree of trust" in Lam. He said all efforts should be made to end the unrest, including "having dialogue with all sectors of the society and improving people's livelihood."

On Sunday, six people were injured during demonstrations in Hong Kong. Four of those were hurt during a knife attack on a crowd after a political argument outside a Tai Koo Shing shopping mall.

The Chinese Communist Central Committee approved plans to improve Hong Kong's legal system and enforcement during a meeting last week, but has revealed extensive details about how that will happen.