U.S. Senate Republican leader
Mitch McConnell warned China on Monday that any violent
crackdown on protests in Hong Kong would be "completely
unacceptable," while Trump administration officials urged all
sides to refrain from violence.
"The people of Hong Kong are bravely standing up to the
Chinese Communist Party as Beijing tries to encroach on their
autonomy and freedom," McConnell wrote in a tweet.
"Any violent crackdown would be completely unacceptable. ...
The world is watching."
Increasingly violent demonstrations in Hong Kong have
plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis
in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his
biggest popular challenges and raising fears of direct
intervention by Beijing.
Some Hong Kong legal experts say official descriptions of
some protesters' actions as terrorism could lead to the use of
extensive anti-terror laws and powers against them. China's
People's Armed Police have also assembled in the neighboring
city of Shenzhen for exercises, the Chinese state-backed Global
Times newspaper said.
Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been seeking
a major deal to correct trade imbalances with China, drew
criticism this month after he described the Hong Kong protests
as "riots" and said they were a matter for China and Hong Kong
to deal with as the territory was part of China.
On Monday a senior Trump administration official and a State
Department spokeswoman urged all sides to refrain from violence,
while stressing support for democracy.
The senior official reiterated Trump's remark that it was a
matter between Hong Kong and China, "with the understanding that
'they're looking for democracy and I think most people want
democracy.'
"Societies are best served when diverse political views are
respected and can be freely and peacefully expressed. The United
States urges all sides to refrain from violence," the official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
CALL TO RESPECT AUTONOMY
A State Department spokeswoman repeated calls for Beijing to
adhere to its commitments to allow Hong Kong a high degree of
autonomy after its 1997 handover from British rule. She said it
was important for the Hong Kong government to respect freedoms
of speech and assembly
"We condemn violence and urge all sides to exercise
restraint, but remain staunch in our support for freedom of
expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in Hong Kong," she
said.
"The ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong reflect the
sentiment of Hongkongers and their broad concerns about the
erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy," she added. "Freedoms of
expression and peaceful assembly are core values that we share
with Hong Kong; these freedoms must be vigorously protected."
While some commentators have accused Trump of all but giving
China a green light for a crackdown, Beijing has accused the
United States of encouraging the protests and angrily denounced
July meetings between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice
President Mike Pence and Hong Kong publisher and democracy
activist Jimmy Lai.
Trump has drawn criticism even from some normally supportive
media. On Aug. 3, the conservative Washington Examiner called
his Hong Kong remarks "a bizarre regurgitation of mainland
Chinese propaganda" and added: "We hope this is Trump speaking
off the cuff and not him selling out Hong Kong."
Last week, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus
called China a "thuggish regime" for disclosing photographs and
personal details of a U.S. diplomat who met with Hong Kong's
student leaders. On Friday, she said the reports had "gone from
irresponsible to dangerous" and must stop.
Hong Kong's airport canceled all flights on Monday, blaming
demonstrators for the disruptions. China said the
anti-government protests that have roiled the city through two
summer months had begun to show "sprouts of terrorism."
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on
Monday that Britain was concerned about the latest violence in
Hong Kong and called for calm from all sides.