Beijing: An army-linked newspaper in China has run photos of a week-old military drill in Hong Kong, a move analysts described as a warning to Beijing’s critics as the city grapples with a wave of anti-government protests.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has maintained a garrison in Hong Kong since the former British colony was returned to Beijing in 1997, but its troops generally keep a low profile and are rarely seen in uniform in public.
The unit’s routine military exercises have not attracted much attention in the past. But a PLA-affiliated newspaper posted photos of the week-old military drill on Tuesday a day after pro-democracy protesters ransacked Hong Kong’s legislature and left anti-Beijing messages on its walls in an unprecedented show of anger.
Meanwhile, China on Wednesday said it lodged an official protest with London after British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Beijing of “serious consequences” if it breaches the Hong Kong handover agreement.
“He seems to be fantasising in the faded glory of British colonialism and in the bad habit of gesticulating while looking down on other countries’ affairs,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing.
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