28th November, 2019
China on Thursday threatened to retaliate after US President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, just as the world’s top two economies edge towards a trade truce.
Trump had seemed reluctant to sign the legislation, but came under heavy pressure from Congress, where the issue has attracted rare bipartisan support.
In a statement, Trump spoke of “respect” for Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he hoped the “leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences”.
But Beijing reacted furiously, warning it was ready to take unspecified “firm countermeasures”.
“The nature of this is extremely abominable, and harbours absolutely sinister intentions,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
In Hong Kong, the government expressed “extreme regret” after Trump signed legislation requiring an annual review of freedoms in Hong Kong and banning the sale of crowd control equipment like tear gas.
“The two acts are obviously interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs,” the city government said in a statement, warning the move would “send the wrong message to the protesters”.
And Beijing’s liaison office in the city condemned Washington’s “disgusting conduct”, saying it would bring “trouble and chaos” to Hong Kong.
Hong Kongers have protested in huge numbers over the last six months, fuelled by years of growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city’s liberties.
The territory’s Beijing-backed leaders have offered few concessions and police have cracked down hard on protesters in increasingly violent confrontations.
On Thursday, police entered the campus of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where they lay siege to protesters inside for days.
Most protesters have now left, some of them arrested as they tried to flee, and police were collecting evidence including Molotov cocktails at the ransacked site.
The violence has done little to dampen support though, with pro-democracy candidates winning a landslide victory in local council elections over the weekend.
*AFP