International Live: China issued a stark reminder Wednesday that its army could be deployed in Hong Kong if city authorities requested support in maintaining “public order” after weeks of sometimes violent protests.

Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history after millions of demonstrators took to the streets and sporadic violent confrontations between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The demonstrations were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China but have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms. Beijing has labelled the protests as “extreme illegal violence”, but has left it to the city’s semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation.

The PLA has maintained a garrison in Hong Kong since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997, but its troops generally keep a low profile and are rarely seen in uniform in public.

Dhaka 24 July (campuslive24.com)//MIH