Britain bans sales of tear gas to Hong Kong after violence at protests
Britain banned sales of crowd-control equipment such as tear gas to Hong Kong on Tuesday and called for an investigation after police clashed with demonstrators opposed to a bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
Millions of people have clogged the streets of the former British colony in recent weeks to rally against the bill, which would allow people to be extradited to the mainland to face trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.
Hong Kong police this month fired rubber bullets and tear gas at people taking part in the 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 standoff with the increasingly mighty Chinese state, are the greatest popular challenge to President Xi Jinping since he took power in 2012.
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