LONDON: Britain banned sales of crowd-control equipment such as tear gas to Hong Kong on Tuesday. Britain has demanded an investigation after police clashed with demonstrators opposed to an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial. Millions of people swarmed in the streets of the former British colony in recent weeks to rally against that bill.
Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas recklessly at people taking part in the peaceful protests – the largest since crowds demonstrated against the bloody suppression of pro-democracy activists in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
The protests, which effectively pitched thousands of often young Hong Kong residents into a face-off with the mighty communist Chinese state, are the greatest popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012. (Agencies)
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