Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says President Donald Trump should voice support for protesters in Hong Kong.
"I would encourage this president, who has seen Chinese behavior for what it is with a clarity that others have lacked, not to shy away from speaking out on Hong Kong himself; the world should hear from him directly that the United States stands with these brave men and women," McConnell said from the Senate floor Monday afternoon, adding the administration should also "make Hong Kong's autonomy a key topic within our bilateral diplomacy" with China, and use a sanctions law to slap financial penalties on "individuals responsible for egregious human rights abuses."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said the U.S. "gravely concerned" by the deepening mayhem.
The protests in Hong Kong started in June over legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The bill has since been scrapped.
The demonstrations have turned violent, specifically over the past two days as protesters clashed with police. Reports over the weekend said police officials threatened to use lethal ammunition if protesters did not leave the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus.
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