"Hallmark Of Our Democracy": Antony Blinken On US Campus Protests

Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the United States, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel's war with Hamas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that campus protests sweeping the United States over the Middle East were part of democracy, but criticised the "silence" over the Palestinian militants Hamas.

Police have carried out large-scale arrests in universities across the United States, at times using chemical irritants and tasers to disperse protests over Israel's war with Hamas.

Speaking in Beijing following a day of meetings with high-ranking officials, Blinken said such protests were a "hallmark of our democracy".