U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union have expressed concerns about the latest clash between protesters and police in Hong Kong.
Many Hongkongers are worried that if the bill were to pass, Beijing could potentially pressure the city government to hand over citizens of any nationality to face trial in the Chinese regime’s courts under false pretenses.
But the anniversary march has now been overshadowed by a group of young protesters who stormed and vandalized the city’s Legislative Council (LegCo) after forcing their way into the building by shattering glass doors with a metal trolley and poles.
All protesters inside LegCo eventually left at around 12:30 a.m. local time on July 2. Meanwhile, local police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowds outside of LegCo.
Speaking inside the White House on July 1, Trump said the protesters who forced their way into LegCo simply wanted democracy.
“Well, they’re looking for democracy and I think most people want democracy. Unfortunately, some governments don’t want democracy,” Trump said, according to AFP.
He added: “That’s what it’s all about. It’s all about democracy. There’s nothing better.”
“Hong Kong’s success is predicated on its rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly,” she said.
“The actions today of a small number of people, who attempted to force their way into the Legislative Council premises, are not representative of the vast majority of demonstrators, who have been peaceful throughout successive protests.”
G-20 Summit
Also on July 1, Trump spoke about how he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had talked about the protest in Hong Kong while the two world leaders were in Japan for the G-20 summit.The G-20 is an international forum of cooperation, with an annual summit attended by government representatives and central bank governors from the European Union and 19 other countries, including Canada, China, Japan, the UK, and the United States. This year, the summit was held in Osaka on June 28-29. In 2018, it was held in Buenos Aires.
The model is currently used in Hong Kong, since the city’s sovereignty was handed over from Britain to China on July 1, 1997, which was intended to preserve its autonomy and freedoms while under the rule of China’s Communist Party. However, the city has seen the encroaching influence of Beijing impact local politics, education, and freedom of the press in recent years.
Aside from Trump and Abe, it is not known if other world leaders also raised the issue of Hong Kong’s sovereignty with Xi.