US has asked China to close its Consulate General in Houston in 72 hours, according to Hu Xijin, the editor of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper.
The United States gave the Chinese side a deadline of three days to close the mission in the Texas city, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
The US asked China to close Consulate General in Houston in 72 hours. This is a crazy move.
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) July 22, 2020
After this, Chinese officials started burning documents inside their Consulate. In videos posted online by local media outlets in Houston, fires could be seen in multiple containers, with smoke rising into the sky.
This video shared with us by a viewer who lives next to the Consulate General of China in #Houston shows fire and activity in the courtyard of the building.
— KPRC2Tulsi (@KPRC2Tulsi) July 22, 2020
DETAILS SO FAR: https://t.co/2cOeKoap96 pic.twitter.com/0myxe6HIlC
.@HoustonFire and @houstonpolice are responding to reports of documents being burned at the Consulate General of China on 3417 Montrose Boulevard. Here’s what the scene looks like there right now. pic.twitter.com/grUHhqmUz4
— KPRC2Tulsi (@KPRC2Tulsi) July 22, 2020