Chaos erupted at Hong Kong’s airport for a second day today as pro-democracy protesters staged a disruptive sit-in that paralysed hundreds of flights, saw police fire pepper spray, and a journalist beaten. Demonstrators defied warnings from the city’s leader who said they were heading down a path of no return.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, US President Donald Trump has called for calm, saying his intelligence had reported Chinese troop movements toward the Hong Kong border. The latest protest led to ugly scenes at one of the world’s busiest airports where small groups of hardcore demonstrators turned on two men they accused of being spies or undercover police.
Hong Kong’s ten-week-long political crisis has seen millions of people take to the streets calling for a halt to sliding freedoms and was already the biggest challenge to Chinese rule of the semi-autonomous city since its 1997 handover from Britain. Beijing is sending increasingly ominous signals that the unrest must end, with state-run media showing videos of security forces gathering across the border.
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