Hong Kong protests: what kind of global financial centre smashes up banks?

As protests in Hong Kong enter their fifth month, several new “normals” have begun to emerge, diverging from the movement’s original mandate. One of those is mainland Chinese bank branches becoming targets for “decoration” (“Why Hong Kong ‘radicals’ have turned on mainland China targets”, October 21).

For a third consecutive weekend, radical protesters set upon mainland Chinese-owned bank branches in this international financial centre. With the “sorry” note left on a local bank that protesters mistakenly vandalised, the message from the arsonists is loud, clear and anti-China.

It is hard to believe the systematic vandalism targeting banks is happening in a global financial centre; harder still to believe these scenes of bigotry are spreading in a metropolis proud of its diversity, culture of inclusion, and respect for the rule of law.

Although the vandalism of other mainland-linked, sometimes US-branded, shops and public properties is as serious as the arson attacks on bank branches, the perceived paranoia towards Chinese banks is detrimental to the precious goodwill Hong Kong has accumulated as a global financial centre, not to mention some Chinese banks are systemically important institutions providing financial services to thousands of local enterprises and millions of retail clients.

Vandalism is a crime driven by hatred. With the petulant and irresponsible behaviour of radical protesters, one does not need to look too far to see the rising trend of extremely narrow localism. Down the road, the protesters might some day destroy every financial institution which supports the Belt and Road and Greater Bay Area initiatives, and, by extension, whole financial system of Hong Kong.

Qiwei Weng, West Kowloon