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Trump links Hong Kong crisis to trade as China military rallies
HONG KONG, Aug 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Donald Trump has urged China to
“humanely” resolve the violent stand-off with pro-democracy protestors in
Hong Kong, on the back of growing concerns that Beijing is considering direct
intervention in the crisis.
Images taken by AFP on Thursday showed thousands of Chinese military
personnel waving red flags and parading at a sports stadium in the city of
Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong.
Dozens of armoured personnel carriers and supply trucks were also parked
nearby.
Chinese state-run media reported this week that the elements of the
People’s Armed Police (PAP), which is under the command of the Central
Military Commission, were assembling in Shenzhen.
The parade comes as the US president linked a possible trade deal with
Beijing to a peaceful resolution to the political unrest that has roiled the
semi-autonomous Chinese city for 10 weeks.
Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Chinese security forces
gathering near the border with Hong Kong as the protests show no signs of
abating and Beijing intensifies its drumbeat of intimidation against a
movement pushing for democratic reforms.
“Millions of jobs are being lost in China to other non-Tariffed countries.
Thousands of companies are leaving. Of course China wants to make a deal. Let
them work humanely with Hong Kong first!” Trump wrote on Twitter, in the
first clear indication that the trade deal could be threatened by how Beijing
reacts to the protests.
“I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve
the Hong Kong problem, he can do it,” Trump said in a subsequent tweet,
suggesting a “personal meeting” with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The Hong Kong protests were sparked by opposition to a plan to allow
extraditions to the mainland, but have since morphed into a wider —
sometimes violent — call for democratic rights.
The movement represents the greatest challenge to Beijing’s authority since
the city was handed back by the British in 1997 under a deal that allowed it
to keep freedoms that many Hong Kongers feel are being eroded.
– Weekend rallies after airport violence –
Activists are planning another series of mass rallies this weekend in a
bid to show their cause still maintains broad public support despite violent
scenes during a disruptive occupation of the airport.
On Tuesday, chaos erupted at one of the world’s busiest transport hubs as
protesters physically stopped travellers from boarding flights, battled riot
police and assaulted two men they accused of being Chinese infiltrators.
Beijing — which has refused to grant any concessions to the protest
movement — has seized on the airport violence, with state-media churning out
a deluge of condemnatory articles, pictures and videos.
“The radicals’ violent attacks on innocent citizens are tantamount to an
act of terrorism that should be condemned in the strongest terms possible,”
Xinhua wrote in a commentary on Thursday.
Until the airport protest, hardcore demonstrators had largely focused their
anger towards the police, with whom they have fought weekly battles, or state
institutions such as the city’s parliament and Beijing’s main office in the
city.
The chaotic scenes inside the airport have prompted some soul-searching
within the largely leaderless movement over whether that violence has
undermined their cause.
As some groups sent out apologies, messaging forums used to organise
protests have filled with calls to support a planned rally on Sunday
organised by the Civil Human Rights Front — a group that advocates non-
violence and has previously managed to get colossal crowds out onto the
streets.
“An urgent call from the peaceful, the rational and the non-violent: the
whole world come out on August 18!” read one popular thread on the Reddit-
like LIHKG forum used by protesters.
– Hands-off approach –
Trump’s tweets on Hong Kong appeared to signal something of a change in
his approach to the city.
In recent days he has come under fire from both sides of the political
aisle for shying away from the issue, avoiding criticising Beijing even as he
cited US intelligence reports of Chinese forces moving to the territory’s
border.
China has portrayed the protests as a foreign-funded attempt to destabilise
the motherland rather than a popular revolt against its policies.
Washington and Beijing have imposed tariffs on $360 billion in two-way
trade, but Trump has delayed tariffs on electronic goods from China, giving
investors hope for a detente in the trade conflict.
The introduction of Hong Kong as a potential bargaining chip in those talks
could produce a further wrinkle.
Beijing has made it clear it is in no mood to offer concessions to Hong
Kong’s protesters, whose demands include an independent inquiry into the
police’s use of tear gas and rubber bullets as well as a long-demanded right
to elect the city’s leader.
BSS/AFP/RY/13:40 hrs