Beijing — China signalled it is hardening its stance on dissent in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where it faces growing frustration with the increasingly authoritarian government of President Xi Jinping. In a report to the opening session of the annual National People’s Congress in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang warned on Monday that China "will never tolerate any separatist schemes" in Taiwan, amid growing tension between the mainland and the self-ruled island. The warning to the almost 3,000 members of the mostly ceremonial legislature followed the omission of language supporting the political autonomy of Hong Kong and Macau that had featured prominently in previous years. The report said Beijing would continue to uphold its "one China" principle and promote "peaceful growth" relations with Taiwan under the 1992 consensus, which agrees that there is only one China without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative. Beijing would also "advance China’s peaceful reunifi...
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