US President
Donald Trump on Monday praised Beijing's handling of pro-democracy
protests in Hong Kong, a day after suspected triad gangsters attacked demonstrators in a bloody escalation. Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history by weeks of marches, which drew millions, and sporadic violent confrontations between
police and pockets of hardcore protesters. The demonstrations have evolved into a call for democratic reforms, universal suffrage and a halt to sliding freedoms which
China had promised to respect in the semi-autonomous territory after its handover from
Britain in 1997.