美国前国防部长詹姆斯·马丁斯(James Mattis)敦促美国政府向香港的反政府抗议者提供更多支持，称香港目前的动荡是一个国际问题，而不是内部问题。
这位退休的美国海军上将周一在纽约表示，鉴于香港抗议活动的敏感性，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府应该谨慎行事，但美国至少应该在道德上与那些为自由而战的人站在一起路透社)。
马蒂说抗议者支持人权，“当人们支持人权时，我只是本能地认为我们应该和他们站在一起，即使这只是道义上的。”
双方的美国议员，加上特朗普本人，都公开批评香港政府及其北京支持者对抗议活动的回应。抗议活动始于一项有争议的引渡法案。
今年秋天，国会将考虑新的立法这将使美国能够对被认为在香港侵犯人权并破坏其自治的香港和中国官员实施制裁。
香港在1997年由英国移交给中国控制之前达成的“一国两制”协议中规定了该地区的权利。
对引渡法案的批评者表示，该法案将损害这一制度，以及给予香港人而非内地同胞的个人和政治自由。周一，马蒂斯还表示，北京支持的立法“违反”了协议。
该条例草案现已被行政长官林郑月娥完全撤回，但此举被驳回，理由是太少，太迟激进分子。抗议者现在还有另外四项要求——林的辞职、对警察行为的独立调查、普选以及对所有因示威游行被捕者的大赦。
中国政府的特点是抗议西方主导的暴乱。共产党坚持认为这是国内问题，而且已经威胁要粉碎任何新生的独立情绪。
但马蒂斯周一表示，骚乱“不是内部事务”周日，数万名抗议者涌向美国驻香港领事馆，呼吁特朗普政府给予他们更多支持。示威者举着美国国旗和标语牌，呼吁国会通过2019年香港人权和民主法案。
然而，这位前五角大楼负责人警告说，美国必须谨慎应对骚乱。“我们必须小心:我们不想说我们要让第82空降师降落在香港来做这件事，”马蒂斯解释道。“但道德上呢？是的，我认为我们必须和他们站在一起。”
U.S. MUST CHALLENGE CHINA OVER HONG KONG, JAMES MATTIS SAYS: 'WE HAVE TO STAND WITH THEM'
Former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has urged the U.S. government to offer more support to anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, arguing that the ongoing unrest in the territory is an international, rather than an internal, issue.
Speaking in New York on Monday, the retired U.S. Marine general said that while President Donald Trump's administration should use caution given the sensitivity of the Hong Kong protests, America should at least be morally standing with those fighting for their freedoms (via Reuters).
Mattis said the protesters were standing for human rights, and that "when people stand up for those, I just inherently think we ought to stand with them, even if it's just moral."
U.S. lawmakers from both sides, plus Trump himself, have openly criticized the response of the Hong Kong government and its backers in Beijing to the protests, which began over a controversial extradition bill.
This fall, Congress will consider new legislation that would enable the U.S. to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials believed to be abusing human rights in the territory and undermining its autonomy.
The region's rights are codified in the "one country, two systems" agreement reached before Hong Kong was handed from British to Chinese control in 1997.
Critics of the extradition bill said it would have undermined this system, as well as the personal and political freedoms afforded to Hong Kongers but not their compatriots on the mainland. On Monday, Mattis also said the Beijing-backed legislation was "in violation" of the agreement.
That bill has now been fully withdrawn by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, but the move has been dismissed as too little, too late by activists. The protesters now have four other demands—Lam's resignation, an independent inquiry into police conduct, universal suffrage and an amnesty for all those arrested in connection with the demonstrations.
The Chinese government has characterized the protests as Western-directed riots. The Communist Party insists the matter is a domestic one, and has threatened to crush any nascent independence sentiment.
But Mattis said Monday that the unrest "is not an internal matter." On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters descended on the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong, calling on the Trump administration to lend them more support. Carrying U.S. flags and placards, the demonstrators also called on Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.
However, the former Pentagon chief warned that the U.S. must be cautious in responding to the unrest. "We have to be careful: We don't want to say we're going to land the 82nd Airborne Division in Hong Kong to do this," Mattis explained. "But morally? Yeah, I think we have to stand with them."
