Pompeo says China trying to muzzle Hong Kong by preventing Tiananmen vigil
03 June, 2020
AMERICA on Tuesday (Jun 2) accused China of muzzling Hong Kong by protecting against a vigil to mark the Tiananmen Square protests, amid a heated feud between Washington and Beijing over the city's freedoms.
"When there is any doubt about Beijing's intent, it is to deny Hong Kongers a voice and a choice, making them exactly like mainlanders. So much for just two systems," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter.
Hong Kong authorities effectively barred the total annual commemoration of the bloody 1989 crackdown - a significant gathering as opposed to the imposed silence on the mainland - by extending a ban on gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
"We urge Hong Kong authorities to permit people to peacefully remember the Chinese Communist Party's victims," said the State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus.
Pompeo the other day declared that Hong Kong was no more autonomous from China under US law after Beijing pushed ahead on a controversial new security law.
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader, Carrie Lam, earlier Monday accused america of "double standards" as President Donald Trump orders the application of force to disperse demonstrators against racial abuse.
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