Exclusive: China's PLA signals it will keep Hong Kong-based troops in barracks
World News
July 9, 2019 / 3:54 AM / Updated an hour ago
Greg Torode, Phil Stewart
6 Min Read
HONG KONG/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Chinese military commander responsible for Hong Kong has assured a Pentagon official that Chinese troops will not interfere in the city’s affairs – an apparent signal that they will stay in their barracks amid renewed political upheaval.
Trucks full of white-gloved People’s Liberation Army soldiers rolled into Hong Kong within hours of Britain handing its colony back to Chinese rule in 1997, sparking anxiety and raising lingering questions about their role.
Major General Chen Daoxiang was speaking at the start of a meeting last month with David Helvey, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, according to people briefed on the discussion.
Helvey met Chen on a courtesy call at in the PLA’s Hong Kong headquarters on June 13 – just meters from where a day earlier police clashed violently with protesters seeking to prevent the passing of a now-suspended bill that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China for trial.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-extradition-pla-exclusive/exclusive-chinas-pla-signals-it-will-keep-hong-kong-based-troops-in-barracks-idUSKCN1U40QR