NEW YORK ¨C Former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday anti-government protests in Hong Kong were ¡°not an internal¡± Chinese matter and that the United States should offer at least moral support to the demonstrators.
The retired U.S. Marine general, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York, said the United States should generally side with those standing up for human rights, which he said included the Hong Kong protesters.
¡°When people stand up for those (rights), I just inherently think we ought to stand with them, even if it¡¯s just moral,¡± said Mattis, who abruptly resigned as Pentagon chief in December over disagreements with President Donald Trump¡¯s foreign policy.
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