President
Xi Jinping said on Friday
China would never allow foreign forces to interfere with its special regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as he swore in a new pro-Beijing government for the gambling hub of Macau.
Xi, speaking at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of Macau's handover to Chinese rule, heaped praise on the former Portuguese colony for its patriotism and loyalty but did not refer directly to six months of anti-government
protests in the nearby former
British colony of Hong Kong.
"I must emphasize, since Hong Kong and Macau’s return to the motherland, dealing with these two Special Administrative Regions' affairs is entirely China's internal affairs and none of the business of foreign forces,” Xi said.