Despite a police ban on demonstrations, thousands of Hong Kongers protested in the streets. The protesters escalated their actions by setting up barricades in the streets and setting them on fire. The protesters continue to use social media to avoid detection by the police, using a messaging app called Telegram that encrypts telephone numbers. Nevertheless, the police appear to be able to identify some users by uploading huge numbers of telephone numbers and matching them with known identities. I suspect that Telegram will try to circumvent this strategy, but the sophistication of the protesters continues to impress me and I am sure that the techniques are being shared globally. The police are also using blue dye to identify protesters. The Chinese government has ramped up its charges that the US and the EU are encouraging the protests, but there is little evidence that the US President has said anything that suggests support for the protesters:
“‘The remarks made by some US politicians disrespect the strict law enforcement by the Hong Kong police,’ the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said.
“‘The real purpose is to let criminals continue to plague Hong Kong and completely destroy the rule of law in Hong Kong.’
“In a separate statement, the office opposed remarks by Ms Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. “
But President Trump has yet to formulate any coherent policy toward China. There are too many conflicting issues: Taiwan, Iran, North Korea, and trade. Trying to balance them all seems to be beyond his diplomatic capabilities.
World Politics News 
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