This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
Published on November 18, 2019, by AFP.
China's military has defended a brief deployment of soldiers onto Hong Kong's streets, warning that ending violence was the 'most pressing task' in the city.
Dozens of soldiers emerged from their barracks in Hong Kong on Saturday to help clean up nearby streets of debris and barricades strewn out by pro-democracy protesters.
The brief clean-up operation came at the end of a week of intense clashes between police and protesters that had caused chaos across Hong Kong.
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the soldiers from the PLA Hong Kong garrison joined Hong Kong citizens in clearing roadblocks and their efforts were welcomed by the citizens.
Wu warned that ending violence and restoring order was the most pressing task in Hong Kong, after another weekend of violence and protesters setting fire to a university entrance.
China's People Liberation Army has maintained a garrison in Hong Kong since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.
However, its troops rarely leave their barracks, with the last time soldiers were seen on Hong Kong's streets being in 2018 to clean up after a typhoon.
