Donald Trump suggests one-to-one with Xi Jinping to resolve Hong Kong crisis

Donald Trump said he had 'zero doubt' Xi Jinping would be able to achieve a peaceful resolution
AP
Daniel O'Mahony15 August 2019

President Donald Trump today suggested holding a “personal meeting” with his Chinese counterpart to discuss mass protests in Hong Kong and urged him to “quickly and humanely” end the crisis.

Mr Trump said Xi Jinping was in a “tough business” but said he had “zero doubt” the Chinese leader would be able to achieve a peaceful resolution. The US President also linked the spiralling pro-democracy protests to America’s trade war with China in his most direct intervention in the turmoil.

Protests began 10 weeks ago over a China extradition bill and have grown in scale, with violent clashes breaking out between demonstrators and police. In a dramatic escalation, Hong Kong’s international airport was severely disrupted earlier this week as thousands of protesters flooded the arrival and departure halls.

Tensions were heightened overnight as a Chinese military commander warned it would “take 10 minutes” for its armed forces to reach the semi-autonomous territory from the neighbouring city of Shenzhen, where paramilitary forces have amassed.

Mr Trump tweeted: “I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a ‘tough business’. I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?”

Raising the ongoing US-China trade war that has shaken global markets, he added: “Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!”

Separately, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, warned China to tread “carefully” in Hong Kong “because people in America remember Tiananmen Square”. A repeat of the military crackdown on the 1989 student-led protests in China would be a “big mistake”, he told Voice of America.

Posting a photo of vehicles online, the east command of the Chinese military warned: “It takes 10 minutes to reach Hong Kong from the Chunjian stadium near the Bay of Shenzhen, and it is 56km from the Hong Kong airport.”

Meanwhile, one of the leaders of Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy uprising was released from prison today.

Benny Tai was sentenced to 16 months as one of the leaders of a 2014 drive for universal suffrage known as the Umbrella Movement. He was allowed home on £10,000 bail but barred from leaving Hong Kong.

The former British territory is part of China under a “one country, two systems” model that grants it a high level of autonomy. However, protesters claim rights are being eroded under pressure from Beijing.

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