Xi praises Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, police for crackdown on pro-democracy protests December 16, 2019 at 02:53AM

Since June, Hong Kong has seen massive, regular demonstrations, which started in opposition to a proposed bill that would have allowed its citizens to be extradited to the mainland. The protests quickly morphed into wider calls for democracy and opposition to growing Chinese influence. China has blamed Western countries for stirring up unrest in Hong Kong.