China warned it will not ‘sit by and watch” the unrest in Hong Kong, as US President Donald Trump expressed concern over the escalation of tensions
China’s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming said that if the situation in Hong Kong deteriorates, China will not “sit by and watch” and it will “quell the unrest swiftly”. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump expressed concern over the escalating tensions and said that he would be speaking to Chinese President Xi Zinping “soon”.
“If the situation deteriorates further into unrest uncontrollable by the SAR (Special Administrative Region) government, then the central government will not sit by and watch,” Liu Xiaoming said. “We have enough solutions and enough power to quell the unrest swiftly,” he added. “We hope this will end in an orderly way. In the meantime we are fully prepared for the worst,” he further said.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinese military personnel were seen waving red flags and parading at a stadium across the border from Hong Kong. Several armored personnel carriers and supply trucks were also seen in the area.
US President Donald Trump averred that he is “very concerned” over China’s response to the protests and said that if Xi “sat down with the protesters… I’ll bet he’d work it out in 15 minutes.”
The protests were initially marked by the opposition to a plan that permitted extraditions to the mainland but eventually morphed into an extensive demand for democratic rights. The protests have come to represent Hong Kong’s vehement objection to Beijing’s authority.
Earlier this month, China had warned Britain to not meddle in its affairs after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for a “fully independent investigation into recent events” in Hong Kong. He made the remark after talking to Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.
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