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Hong Kong protests will have ‘unbearable and devastating consequences’, Chinese state media says
- Aim of opposition lawmakers is to ‘mess up Hong Kong, overthrow [its] government and seize power’, People’s Daily says in commentary
- The ‘continuous politicisation and violence is seriously damaging the inherent strength of [the city’s] economy’, it says
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China’s state media said on Thursday that failure to put an end to the prolonged protests in Hong Kong will have “unbearable and devastating consequences” for the city.
Opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong have been “using filibustering ways to hijack the Legislative Council since its reopening, trying to paralyse the governance” of the city, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily said in a commentary published on its website.
“They and the radical protesters shouted slogans like ‘liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times’, demanded the dissolution of the Legislative Council, the disbandment the police force, and even the setting up an interim government, to keep putting pressure on Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to resign,” it said.
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“All these have exposed their real intention, and that is they want to mess up Hong Kong, overthrow the special administrative region government and seize power.”
The protests in Hong Kong began in June with opposition to a proposed bill that would have allowed for the extradition of suspects in criminal cases to mainland China. The legislation was first shelved then formally withdrawn on Wednesday, but the protesters still have four other demands, including universal suffrage in the city and an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality.
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Over the past 20 weeks, the clashes between police and protesters have become increasingly violent.
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