US Lawmakers Warn of Consequences If Beijing Cracks Down on Hong Kong, as State Dept Says ‘Deeply Concerned’

Anti-extradition bill protesters react after the police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstration at Sham Shui Po, in Hong Kong on Aug. 14, 2019. Reuters/Tyrone Siu

U.S. congressmen on Aug. 14 warned the Chinese regime against ordering a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown in response to the Hong Kong protests, as footage emerged of convoys of Chinese armored vehicles amassing near the border with Hong Kong, while Beijing ramped up its rhetoric against protesters.

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and the committee’s lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that any such violent action by the Chinese regime would be met with “swift consequences.”