China's PLA soldiers help clean up Hong Kong streets as protesters leave campuses

HONG KONG - China's People's Liberation Army soldiers in shorts and t-shirts appeared in Hong Kong streets on Saturday, helping residents clean up debris after anti-government protests blocked roads, witnesses said.

Chinese state media repeatedly broadcast comments made on Thursday by President Xi Jinping, in which he denounced the unrest and said"stopping violence and controlling chaos while restoring order is currently Hong Kong's most urgent task". Many protesters appeared to have left the campuses by late Saturday though some remained behind to man barricades. Hong Kong's Cross-Harbour Tunnel was still blocked by protesters occupying Polytechnic University.

Chinese troops have appeared on streets only once since the 1997 handover to help clear up after a typhoon in 2018. It was not clear how many were involved on Saturday. Demosistō, a pro-democracy organisation, said Saturday's clean-up operation could set a"grave precedent" if the city's government invites the military to deal with internal problems.

"We didn’t want to confront the people and the PLA troops directly," he told Reuters."We are not directly against the PLA, but rather the government. But the PLA should not leave their base because this is Hong Kong territory."Clashes on Saturday saw at least one petrol bomb thrown before anti-government protesters at the campuses retreated. No soldiers appeared to have been involved in the confrontations.

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