Chinese President Xi Jinping met Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in Beijing on Monday, saying he recognizes her courage to govern the financial hub in these "most difficult" times.
"The situation in Hong Kong in 2019 was the most complex and difficult since its return to the motherland," Xi told local media in brief comments before the closed-door session.
Lam's meetings come after Hong Kong police fired tear gas in late-night street clashes with anti-government protesters Sunday as the former British colony's worst political crisis in decades drags on into a seventh month.