News Snapshot:
HONG KONG — Since the pandemic erupted in 2020, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has been locked in a virus-free bubble within his country’s closed borders. He left the safe confines of the mainland for the first time on Thursday, arriving in Hong Kong for a tightly scripted visit aimed at cementing his authority over the city. Xi began a two-day visit by stepping off a high-speed train at West Kowloon Station that connects the city to the mainland. The station was cordoned off by large crowd control barriers and hundreds of police. Inside, he and his wife, Peng Liyuan,...
