U.S. fears for Hong Kong travelers’ safety

The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning Thursday for Hong Kong because of persistent mass protests there. The warning urges travelers to avoid the protests and exercise increased caution “due to civil unrest.” Australia, Britain, Ireland, and Japan have taken similar steps.

Why all the protests? They began in opposition to a bill on extradition to China. Though Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam eventually suspended the bill, the protesters are still demanding her resignation. Hong Kong police have detained 589 people since June 9. Yang Guang, the spokesman for the Chinese Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, warned the protesters on Tuesday not to “misjudge the situation and mistake our restraint for weakness.”

Dig deeper: Amanda Tattersall, an academic at the University of Sydney, explains how the mass demonstrations unnerve the Chinese government.