China leader cautions against external forces

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday urged the semiautonomous former Portuguese colony of Macau to guard against interference by what he called hostile external forces, after prolonged pro-democracy protests in nearby Hong Kong.

Xi's remarks came after Beijing accused foreign forces of fostering the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong, where protesters demanded a right to nominate candidates for the territory's next chief executive. The 79-day demonstration ended in mid-December with both Beijing and Hong Kong's leaders refusing to bow to the protesters' demands.

The U.S. has denied it had anything to do with the protests.

Xi was visiting Macau to mark the 15th anniversary of its return to Beijing and hosted the sworn-in ceremony of Macau's newest chief, Chui Sai On. He was the only nominee for the position and was elected by a 400-person panel.

Both Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions where Beijing allows greater autonomy under the "one country, two systems" arrangement. However, Beijing does not want to the regions to become hotbeds of democracy movements.

Since Xi took power about two years ago, Beijing has ratcheted up rhetoric against foreign interference, even though China is becoming more intertwined with the world than ever.

Observers say Beijing is vilifying foreign powers and fostering anti-American sentiments to divert public anger at domestic issues and deflect criticism at the ruling Communist Party.