President Donald Trump said China’s Xi Jinping “acted responsibly” after seven weekends of demonstrations in Hong Kong and new fears that protesters and the China-backed government are heading toward a violent confrontation.
“I think President Xi of China has acted responsibly, very responsibly – they’ve been out there protesting for a long time,” Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. “I hope that President Xi will do the right thing,” he said, adding that China could stop the protests “if they wanted.”
UK backs calls for probe into police
The U.K. government wants the violence in Hong Kong over the weekend to be included in the scope of a broader independent inquiry into protests and the police handling of unrest in recent weeks. Foreign Minister Andrew Murrison said “it is probably not sufficient simply to have an internal police inquiry.” Murrison’s backing for an independent inquiry risks angering Beijing, which has repeatedly demanded the U.K. stay out of China’s affairs in Hong Kong. The British government “will be critical of China going forward if we think that is appropriate,” Murrison said. “I am confident that China will come to see that its interests, as well as the interests of the people of Hong Kong, are best served by preserving the one-country, two systems status.”
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