Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday the new security law China has imposed on Hong Kong was an affront to all nations and Washington would continue to implement President Donald Trump's directive to end the territory's special status. Pompeo told a news briefing the United States was deeply concerned about the safety of everyone in Hong Kong and said Article 38 of the law passed on Tuesday purported to apply to offenses committed outside Hong Kong and likely included Americans. "This is outrageous and an affront to all nations," he said.

housands of people took to Hong Kong’s streets to stage the city’s biggest protest in months, and police moved swiftly to enforce Beijing’s mandate to quash dissent with more than 300 arrests—including nine under a new national-security law. With an extensive show of force on Wednesday, officers in riot gear confronted demonstrators who gathered around lunchtime in a busy shopping district and later spread to other areas. Police fired pepper spray and water cannon and hoisted purple banners warning protesters that they could be in violation of the new law.