of his country's power and dignity

the central theme of his presidency.

But Hong Kong, a part of China's sovereign territory,

has descended into violent anarchy.

Universities have turned into battlegrounds.

Protesters are hurling Molotov cocktails at the police.

But they appear to retain a strong measure of support

from the population.

Chinese troops have appeared on the streets,

but so far only to help clear the roads.

The spark for the first demonstrations in June

was the introduction of a bill allowing

extradition of criminal suspects from Hong

Kong to mainland China.

By most accounts, that was an idea

pushed by Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive.

But Mr Xi bears a broader responsibility.

In the seven years since he came to power in Beijing

the Chinese state has become significantly more

authoritarian.

Preparing the ground in Hong Kong for a backlash

against rule from Beijing.

An anti-corruption drive has seen prominent figures

disappear from public life on the mainland

and a rash of suicides among Communist party officials.

And more than 1m people have been

interned in re-education camps in the province of Xinjiang.

The treatment of Xinjiang is often

cited by demonstrators in Hong Kong

as a sign of just how far Beijing

will go to crush cultural and regional diversity.

During the Xi period, the mainland's intolerance

for free speech and thuggish attitude towards the law

has seeped into Hong Kong itself.

The case of some Hong Kong booksellers,

who were kidnapped, then detained on the mainland

sent a chilling message.

So did the decision to ban elected lawmakers

from the Hong Kong assembly for mangling

loyalty oaths to China.

Prominent anti-Beijing political activists,

such as Joshua Wong and Edward Leung, were imprisoned.

Mr Wong is now out of jail while the still imprisoned Mr Leung

finds his slogan "Free Hong Kong, Revolution Now,"

chanted on the streets.

During the Xi years China's gone backwards politically.

Maoist era slogans have been revived

and Xi Jinping thought has been written

into the Chinese constitution.

Free speech has been further restricted.

Civil rights lawyers have been locked up.

And non-governmental organisations have been closed

down.

So it's hardly surprising if Hong Kong now

regards the prospect of full integration

with the mainland with horror.

And that date no longer seems impossibly far off.

The most radical demonstrators are often

in their teens or early 20s and they'll

be in the prime of their lives when the second handover takes

place in 2047.

The current revolt raises questions,

not just about Mr Xi's handling of Hong Kong,

but about his entire political project.

The president's mantra is the great rejuvenation

of the Chinese people.

And central to that is the restoration

of national territorial integrity.

Just as disturbingly for Mr Xi's vision,

the rebellion in Hong Kong undermines a central tenet

of the patriotic education pushed by the Communist party.

Namely, that there is one China and that

all Chinese people long for nothing more than to be united.

It's now clear that millions of Hong Kongers

do not feel that ethnic solidarity overrides

their political concerns about mainland China.

On the contrary, they're increasingly

asserting a separate Hong Kong identity

that's often tinged with prejudice against mainlanders.