By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) - China may use the People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel deployed in Hong Kong to "contain" the ongoing anti-government protests, an official said.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told reporters in Beijing that if the Hong Kong government requests PLA, “it can be deployed to Hong Kong to maintain social order”, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday.
The intervention by the aremy is seen as China’s hardening stance against ongoing anti-extradition bill demonstrations in the autonomous region.
“Sunday’s siege of the mainland government’s liaison office in the city was intolerable,” Wu said.
Hong Kong is witnessing mass protests against Chief Executive Carrie Lam's move to introduce an amendment which will legalize extradition of suspects to mainland China, Macao and Taiwan.
The protests started early in June and have witnessed incidents of violence including attack on the office of China’s liaison officer in the region.
“Some behavior of the radical protesters is challenging the authority of the central government and the bottom line of one country, two systems. This is intolerable,” he warned.
The Lam government has since declared the bill “dead” and postponed its second reading before it is put to vote but has refused to completely withdraw it from the 70-member Legislative Council.
The PLA has its personnel deployed in the autonomous region called the “People’s Liberation Army’s Hong Kong garrison”.
The law allows Hong Kong to ask the central government for assistance from the PLA for the maintenance of public order.
The global business hub Hong Kong is under special administrative control of China since July 1, 1997 after Britain handed it over to Beijing.
China technically controls defense and foreign policies of the region.
It is the second time since 2014 when the region is witnessing anti-government protests seeking more democratic norms.
The mass demonstrations have invited criticism by Western countries to China.
On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry disputed the remarks made by the U.K. and U.S. on Hong Kong saying that the Chinese government “absolutely does not allow any external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs or disrupt Hong Kong”.