China on Wednesday urged the U.S. choice to show away political asylum-seekers from the consulate in Hong Kong was largely pushed by President Donald Trump's want to keep away from a battle with Beijing throughout his hotly contested reelection bid, and officers threatened to close down the diplomatic facility if it have been ever to supply sanctuary to dissidents. The derision and new threats from China got here a day after it says 4 political activists entered the consulate to obtain diplomatic safety amid an ongoing anti-democracy crackdown by mainland forces on the previous British colony. They have been turned away, and a minimum of one in every of them, 19-year-old Tony Chung, was arrested by Chinese language officers on fees linked to protests final yr. "With the stunning silence from the U.S. consulate, observers urged that the U.S. turns into extra cautious after the nationwide safety legislation for Hong Kong [Special Administrative Region] took impact," Chinese language state media information service World Instances wrote Wednesday morning, citing the brand new guidelines it has imposed on the city-state, which had loved better diplomatic freedoms earlier than the Chinese language crackdown earlier this yr. The World Instances will not be a direct mouthpiece for the Chinese language Communist Celebration however is aligned with its views. The outlet cited native consultants and officers who consider the U.S. is attempting to keep away from additional diplomatic battle with China, significantly throughout the presidential election. And it issued stark warnings towards what it considers additional potential meddling from the U.S. "If the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong turns into a haven for rioters, it runs the chance of being shut down by order of the Chinese language authorities," Lau Siu-kai, a vp for the semi-official assume tank the Chinese language Affiliation of Hong Kong and Macau Research, advised the outlet. Chinese language officers detained Chung for posting content material on social media that advocated for Hong Kong's independence from China. The New York Instances stories Chung has denied writing it. He was arrested Tuesday in a espresso store throughout the road from the consulate. The arrests come amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and China following the U.S. closure of the Chinese language consulate in Houston this summer season over espionage considerations, met by Beijing shuttering the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. The Trump administration has targeted its worldwide ire on confronting Beijing in current months, significantly because it facilities its blame on China for the growing unfold of the coronavirus within the U.S. Beijing has additionally expressed outrage on the U.S. choice this week to promote anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, one other nation that China considers to be a renegade province.