Just on the heels of new reports of a significant build-up of Chinese security forces on Hong Kong's border, with the White House monitoring what an admin official described as "a congregation of Chinese forces" outside the city, the chief of the Chinese military garrison in Hong Kong has warned that the army stands ready to "protect" Chinese sovereignty.
A military crackdown could be imminent, as we warned earlier, against the massive anti-Beijing protests which have gripped Hong Kong over the past month, and which last week escalated to vandal attacks on the central government’s liaison office in the semi-autonomous city, as The New York Times reported.
The PLA's Hong Kong garrison commander Chen Daoxiang firmly asserted that continuing unrest on the streets in Hong Kong would "not be tolerated" while playing the promo video which included a scene of a soldier shouting in Cantonese during an anti-riot exercise: “All consequences are at your own risk.”
The new PLA "riot control" video, which The Washington Post described as showing soldiers practicing shooting protesters:
Last week Chinese military leaders hinted that People's Liberation Army troops could be used to quell the protests following widespread claims of "attacks" on the central government’s liaison office in the city. Ministry of National Defense, Senior Col. Wu Qian, said at the time, “That absolutely cannot be tolerated.”
And yesterday an unnamed White House official described to Bloomberg evidence of a Chinese security force build up on Hong Kong's border, though few details were given: "The nature of the Chinese buildup wasn’t clear; the official said that units of the Chinese military or armed police had gathered at the border with Hong Kong. The official briefed reporters on condition he not be identified," according to the report.
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