Chinese Troop Buildup At Hong Kong Border Threatens Martial Law
Ongoing protests in Hong Kong have brought tens of thousands of public servants, doctors, nurses and students onto the streets. There have been over 200 arrests by riot police armed with tear gas, shotguns, shields and batons.
Ongoing protests in Hong Kong have brought tens of thousands of public servants, doctors, nurses and students onto the streets. There have been over 200 arrests by riot police armed with tear gas, shotguns, shields and batons.
The latest wave of protests was sparked by the news that 40 people recently arrested for protesting could face serious charges. While the extradition bill that sparked the initial protests has been suspended, activists are demanding it be scrapped entirely.
Bloomberg reports that US officials are closely monitoring a buildup of “Chinese troops, PLA or armed police” on the Hong Kong border. This is in addition to the PLA troops stationed in Hong Kong that number between 6 and 8 thousand. Beijing has said that they will deploy troops if requested by Hong Kong authorities in order to establish ‘public order’.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that China should ‘do the right thing’ in response to the protests, and urged all sides to avoid violence.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has laid blame for the ‘unruly behaviour’ in Hong Kong on American agitation. He labelled it ‘the work of the US’ adding that they would not allow foreign interference in their domestic affairs.
The dissent of Hong Kong bureaucrats and civil servants — an unprecedented protest and a huge embarrassment to Carrie Lam and her administration. The rally is about to begin. pic.twitter.com/cMRAQ5wTbg
— Elaine Yu (@yuenok) August 2, 2019
Field reporter for The Unshackled Morgan Munro is actually in on the ground covering the protests right now. Last night he attended an assembly at Central Charter Garden attended by civil servants who support the movement. He estimated that there was at least 10,000 people in attendance.
Shortly following this assembly, we received word that there was another assembly at Edinburgh Square attended by Doctors and Nurses which also drew thousands of attendees.
As the situation develops all of us here at The Unshackled hope you can join with us to wish Morgan Munro a safe excursion in his coverage of the significant developments in Hong Kong.
You can see some of Morgan Munro’s coverage here.
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