The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Protesters ‘trampling on rule of law’, says China
● Condemnation as demonstrators break into city’s legislature
China’s government has issued strong backing for Hong Kong’s embattled administration, saying the occupation and vandalising of the city’s legislature by pro-democracy protesters were “serious illegal acts”.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned the acts that saw several hundred demonstrators break through glass and steel barriers to enter the building on Monday night.
Mr Geng said China
strongly supported Hong Kong’s government and its police force in dealing with the incident.
“The violent attacks are serious illegal acts that trample on the rule of law and endanger social order. We strongly condemn it,” he told reporters.
The cabinet’s Hong Kong affairs office issued virtually an identical statement.
Mr Geng’s comments follow the publication of an editorial by a ruling Chinese communist party newspaper that said the demonstrators who broke into the legislature showed their “arrogance”.
Chinese state media ran footage of police in Hong Kong clearing protesters in the early hours of yesterday in a break with their silence over days of pro-democracy demonstrations that have challenged Beijing’s authority over the semiautonomous Chinese territory.
Beijing has largely sought to downplay the demonstrations that have highlighted doubts about the validity of its “one country, two systems” formula for governing the former British colony.
Its coverage of the protests and the publication of a harsh editorial in the official Communist Party newspaper Global Times may indicate it is prepared to take a tougher line.
Veteran opposition figure Joshua Wong acknowledged the damage to the legislative offices has drawn criticism, but he said mass participation in marches and rallies over previous weeks showed a groundswell of support for the demonstrators’ goals of demanding more accountability from chief executive Carrie Lam’s administration.
“I understand people might not 100% agree or disagree on all of the behaviour of protesters, but all of the requests have been ignored. So is there any way out?” Mr Wong said.
Having been elected by a Beijing-approved committee, Ms Lam is reliant on continuing support from Beijing, which has shown no outward signs of abandoning her.
The demonstrations reflect mounting frustration with Ms Lam and her government for not responding to demands from opposition figures that were originally sparked by a government attempt to change extradition laws to allow suspects to be sent to China for trial.
“The violent attacks ... are serious illegal acts”