UPDATED. The decision came as China's rubber-stamp parliament was set to vote Thursday, May 28, on a new Hong Kong security law, a move that has triggered renewed protests.
China's treatment of Hong Kong has provoked rare bipartisan support during the divisive tumult of the Trump administration and ahead of November's presidential election.
Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist who has lobbied for trade sanctions, said Beijing could not expect foreign countries to ignore what is happening to such an important global trade hub. But Holden Chow, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, said Beijing's national security laws would make the city safer for businesses after last year's unrest.
Police surrounded the city's legislature where the bill was being debated, fired pepper ball rounds at protesters and arrested more than 300 people, mostly for unlawful assembly.
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