‘No calm’ unless HK violence ends

CHINA’S Hong Kong affairs office warned yesterday that the city will never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, calling the acts of rioters and the “burn with us” mentality political viruses of Hong Kong society.

“Hong Kong will not enjoy a day of peace until violence is eradicated,” a spokesperson for the State Council Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said in a statement, noting that the central government will never sit idly or allow the destructive forces to act wantonly.

During the May Day holiday, radicals renewed violence in Hong Kong by holding illegal assemblies, disrupting shops and throwing petrol bombs, which have laid bare the ill intentions of the violent forces and the behind-the-scene plotters, organizers and instigators to drag Hong Kong into an abyss, the spokesperson said.

For the sake of the future of Hong Kong and the vital interests of Hong Kong people, the only correct way is to take a clear and firm stand by saying no to violence and the “burn with us” mentality.

The spokesperson called on the whole society to act in concert to stop violence and chaos, restore order, unite to fight the COVID-19 epidemic, save the economy, improve people’s livelihood and jointly build the homeland.

Hong Kong’s bright future lies only in the adherence to and the full and accurate implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle, the spokesperson said.

The statement came after Hong Kong’s economy recorded in the first quarter its deepest annual contraction since at least 1974, with GDP declining 8.9 percent year on year. The office said that while there were many factors contributing to Hong Kong’s economic woes, the main problem was radical protests.

“The violent forces are destroying the foundation of prosperity and stability in Hong Kong,” said the spokesperson.

(Xinhua)