White House monitors build up of Chinese troops on Hong Kong border

The White House is monitoring a build up of Chinese troops on the Hong Kong border amid protests.

A bleeding man is taken away by policemenin the latest violence. Picture; AP.

The White House is monitoring a build up of Chinese troops on the Hong Kong border as the territory’s police show signs of being overwhelmed by the increasingly violent protests.

Units of Chinese military or armed police were gathering on the border, according to Bloomberg, as China warned the civil disorder had gone “far beyond” peaceful protest.

A White House official told Bloomberg the nature of the buildup wasn’t clear: but it came just over 24 hours after Beijing called the violence in Hong Kong a “creation of the US.”

Hong Kong update:
- Chinese forces massing on border
- ICAC is investigating police over triad attack in Yuen Long, SCMP says
- Triads launched fireworks at protesters in Tin Shui Wai, injuring 10
- Police assault journalists in Kwai Chung
- 40 protesters charged with rioting
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— Matthew Brooker (@mbrookerhk) July 30, 2019

Overnight (AEST) authorities charged 44 people with rioting, an offence that can carry a multiyear prison sentence, as the city’s Beijing-backed government takes a tougher stance to try to restore order after weeks of increasingly volatile protests.

It was the first time the authorities had used the charge since their move to win legislative approval for a bill authorising extradition to the mainland drew as many as two million people onto the streets and plunged the city into political crisis in early June.

Soon after the charges became known, hundreds of people swarmed a police station in the urban district of Kwai Chung, where some of those charged were being held, to protest the decision, underscoring the risks the government faces of provoking further unrest with a harsh response.

Near midnight, dozens of protesters faced off with police with riot gear outside the police station, with videos on local media showing many in pouring rain chanting “release the martyrs.”

The rioting charges came a day after Beijing’s top office for Hong Kong affairs held a rare press conference to publicly support the city’s government and urge that authorities punish violent protesters and act to restore order. Neither Beijing nor Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, have signalled they are prepared to make further concessions that even some pro-Beijing figures in the city say are necessary to help quell the troubles.

Over the past weeks, the city has been gripped in a worsening spiral of violence between police and protesters that mark the biggest social and political crisis in the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Although Mrs. Lam suspended the controversial extradition bill that sparked the protests, many opponents have continued to regularly hold determined protests that have widened to oppose Beijing’s tightening restrictions on the city’s freedoms.

On Sunday, a central district in Hong Kong became an urban battle scene as police shot repeated rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters and began making rapid arrests. Police said protesters attacked officers at the scene with bricks and sharpened iron rods.

Many had marched to the district after officials restricted the protest route, even though the protesters were warned that their actions constituted illegal assembly. Police arrested 32 men and 17 women, aged between 16 and 41. Of those, 45 were charged, including 44 with rioting, police said Tuesday. One person was charged with possession of offensive weapons.

Digital flyers begun circulating on the Telegram messaging app — a popular communication tool among protesters — urging them to rally Wednesday morning outside a local courthouse where those charged were to appear in the morning.

The Wall St Journal