US Should Side With Hong Kong Protesters, Says ex-Pentagon Chief Mattis

US Should Side With Hong Kong Protesters, Says ex-Pentagon Chief Mattis
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis speaks at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York, U.S. on Sept. 9, 2019. Gary He/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

NEW YORK—Former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sept. 9 anti-government protests in Hong Kong were “not an internal” Chinese matter and that the United States should offer at least moral support to the demonstrators.

The retired U.S. Marine general, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York, said the United States should generally side with those standing up for human rights, which he said included the Hong Kong protesters.