BBC Online :China’s state media have strongly backed Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung, praising his performance while condemning protests as “chaos”.The support in Communist Party paper People’s Daily comes as student activists threaten to occupy government buildings if Leung does not resign.Police on Thursday warned they would take action if the students did so.The protesters are angry at China’s plan to vet candidates for polls in 2017, saying they want full democracy.On Wednesday China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi also warned against “illegal” protests and foreign interference.The People’s Daily is the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper. In a front-page editorial on Thursday, it praised Leung’s handling of the situation so far.”The central government is full of confidence in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying [CY Leung], and is completely satisfied with his performance,” it said.Beijing “will thus continue to strongly support Leung’s leadership of Hong Kong’s legal administration as well as the police’s handling of illegal activities”, it added.People’s Daily also carried on its website a comment piece from another newspaper which stated: “Hong Kong has for many years enjoyed peace and harmony. It now sees the emergence of this embarrassing chaos, and the root cause lies with a few people who are disrespecting the law.””Chaos denies Hong Kong residents their prosperity, goes against their wishes, and is not what all Chinese people wish to see or what we can tolerate.”Beijing’s support of Leung follows repeated calls by protesters for his resignation.The senior Chinese leadership has set out clear limits on who can run for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong’s top leader, in 2017.The rules make it virtually impossible for anyone not trusted by the Chinese government to stand for election.
