ABC News
Date: Mar 13, 2018
By: Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

In this Sunday, March 11, 2018, photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds after hearing the results of a vote on a constitutional amendment during a plenary session of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China’s move to scrap term limits and allow Xi to serve as president indefinitely puts him on track to deal with some of the country’s weightiest long-term sovereignty challenges, especially the fates of Hong Kong and Taiwan. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)more +

China’s move to scrap term limits and allow Xi Jinping to serve as president indefinitely puts him on track to deal with some of the country’s weightiest long-term sovereignty challenges, especially the fates of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The question is, will Xi bet big on bold moves that could result in potentially disastrous consequences?

Hong Kong offers a delicate initial test. Since passing from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the financial hub has operated as a “special administrative region,” retaining its own legal and economic system and enjoying a considerable degree of autonomy from Beijing.

That arrangement was supposed to last 50 years, until 2047, but calls for political reform in the city and what many see as Beijing tightening its controls and encroaching on freedoms there have created rising tensions.    [FULL  STORY]