The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are warning China against military action amid ongoing massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and denied Beijing’s charges that the U.S. was fueling the protests.
Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, New York Democrat, and Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the panel’s ranking Republican, said in a statement Wednesday: “It is Beijing’s actions that are at the root of the frustration among the people of Hong Kong. No foreign powers are fomenting this dissent.”
Hong Kong reopened its main airport Wednesday after two days of clashes with police that caused hundreds of flight cancellations.
The surging tensions have sparked a fierce debate over whether and how long Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party will allow the standoff to go on.
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President Trump on Tuesday tweeted that U.S. intelligence “has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!”
Paramilitary police were seen assembling across the border in the city of Shenzhen for what officials described as training exercises.
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Fears quickly soared upon the reports that China was moving troops towards Hong Kong, although it could not be determined whether Mr. Trump was revealing new troop movements or deployments already reported in the media over the weekend and on Monday.
In their statement, the lawmakers wrote, “We are concerned that China would consider again brutally putting down peaceful protests,” and cited the 1989 Tiananmen Square standoff.
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“We urge China to avoid making such a mistake, which would be met with universal condemnation and swift consequences.”
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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