- Tweeter
republish
As tensions deepen in Hong Kong between pro-democracy activists and Chinese authorities, with the specter of a major crackdown to end the movement that has now lasted ten weeks in a row, there are few countries to dare to criticize Beijing for managing this crisis. Meanwhile, as new rallies are scheduled for Thursday, China is massing troops at the gates of the autonomous territory.
Ten weeks of demonstrations, escalating tensions, police violence on one side, deafening silence from the international community on the other. It is clear that Western reactions are shy and rare. And for the moment are limited to calls for calm, dialogue and restraint, as has hitherto been done by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or the head of French diplomacy. Jean-Yves le Drian yesterday asked all parties to stop the escalation of violence. No condemnation on the other hand, so as not to offend Beijing, which now calls the rioters " terrorists ", and recalls that Hong Kong is a purely internal matter and gives himself the right to end the chaos and restore order.
Military exercises
For several days, tanks are massing at the gates of Hong Kong, officially for military exercises. Several sources, including CNN and AFP confirm the presence of the military police in a stadium in Shenzhen, close to Hong Kong and the deployment of trucks and armored vehicles. Is Beijing preparing to intervene, or is it intimidation? Hard to answer. Donald Trump proposes to meet his Chinese counterpart and wants to believe in a peaceful way out of crisis. Xi Jinping can " humanly " and " quickly " solve the problem of Hong Kong, said in a tweet the American president.
► See also: Chinese forces gathered near Hong Kong