A dwindling core of hardline protesters held their ground on Thursday at a Hong Kong university besieged for days by police, as the US passed a bill lauding the city’s pro-democracy movement, setting up a likely clash between Washington and Beijing.
China did not immediately respond to the passage in Washington of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which voices strong support for the “democratic aspirations of the Hong Kong people.”
But China had already threatened retaliation if the bill is signed into law by President Donald Trump, and state-run media warned Thursday the legislation would not prevent Beijing from intervening forcefully to stop the “mess” gripping the financial hub.
“Some may expect this to deter Beijing. Such thinking is naive,” the Global Times said.
“If we take this US bill seriously and shrink from tackling riots, Hong Kong will suffer from an accelerated collapse of the rule of law and be erased from the modern world.”
Source: Guardian Newspaper
