ZCZC
BFF-27
CHINA-HONGKONG-POLITICS
China says Hong Kong’s priority is to ‘punish’ violence
BEIJING, July 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China said Monday that Hong Kong’s top
priority was to “punish violent and unlawful acts” as Beijing threw its
support behind the city’s government following another weekend of protests.
Yang Guang, spokesman of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China’s
State Council, said he hoped people “from all walks of life in Hong Kong will
clearly oppose and resist violence”.
Yang said the violence, which he blamed on a “few radicals”, had seriously
undermined Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and “bumped into the bottom
line” of the “one country, two systems” principle that governs the financial
hub.
“No civilized society or rule of law society will tolerate rampant
violence,” Yang said at an extraordinary press conference.
“We hope that the general public will clearly understand the seriousness
of the current state of affairs and jointly denounce the bad actions and
crimes committed by radicals, and prevent them from harming Hong Kong,” he
said.
Yang said the central government “strongly” supports Hong Kong’s
beleaguered chief executive Carrie Lam and the city’s police force, which has
been accused of using excessive force against protesters.
“We also believe that Hong Kong’s top priority task right now is to punish
violent and unlawful acts in accordance with the law, to restore social order
as soon as possible, and to maintain a good business environment,” said
another Hong Kong affairs spokeswoman, Xu Luying, at the press conference.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1452 hrs