BySTAFFWRITERS inHongKong
T
he central government lam-
basted radicalprotesters
inHongKongonAug 4 for
blatantly tramplingonthe
national dignity and theprincipleof
“one country, twosystems”.
Aspokespersonfor theHong
Kong andMacaoAffairsOfficeof the
StateCouncil made the remarks in
response toan illegal assemblyon
Aug 3 in which some radicalprotest-
ers removed the national flag froma
flagpole near Tsim Sha Tsui StarFerry
Pier and tossed it intothe harbor.
Their act constitutesa violation
oftheNationalFlag andNational
EmblemOrdinance inHongKong,
and a blatant affront tothe national
dignity and theprincipleof“one coun-
try, twosystems”, the spokesperson
said.
Italsohurt the feelingsoftheChi-
nesepeople, including thepeopleof
HongKong, the spokesperson added.
The spokespersonoftheLiaison
OfficeoftheCentralPeople’sGov-
ernment in theHongKong Special
Administrative Region said it was the
second time the nation’s dignity was
trampledon by radicalprotesters, who
alsobesieged the liaisonoffice building
and defaced the national emblemon
July 2 1.
Such lawlessness must notbe
allowed, andoffenders must be
brought tojustice in accordance with
the law, the spokesperson said, reiter-
ating the central government’s support
for the SARgovernment andpolice
tostrictly enforce the law topunish
lawbreakers and restoreorder.
Strong criticismpo^ uredin from
various sectorsofHongKong after a
weekendofviolence rocked the city,
paralyzing traffic and disrupting busi-
ness in many areas.
The SARgovernment, in a state-
ment issued at around 6pmonAug
4, saidHongKong will descend toa
dangerous tippingpoint if such bla-
tant lawlessness and violence, which
gobeyond freedomofexpression, were
condoned.
HongKong saw twovery different
crowdson the afternoonofAug 3.One
was made upof 90,000people who
assembledpeacefullyin VictoriaPark
inCausewayBay.
Observers called thepeaceful,posi-
tive rally, the silent majority’s answer
tothe radicalism and violence mount-
ed byprotesters whohave repeatedly
thrown the city intochaos. Twoear-
lier rallies saw about 480,000people
voicing their shared aspirations for
restoringpeace and harmony in the
city.
The damplawnsof VictoriaPark
werepacked withparticipants.Atone
point in thepublic rally, youngpeople
tookthe stage toremove their masks to
reveal their identities in stark contrast
tomasked radicals.
EmmaChanMing-kwan tookher
1 3-year-old sontothe rally in hopes
of teaching him “totell right from
wrong”.
“Biased school education and media
reports have failed towarn youngsters
about the consequencesofviolence,”
she said.
A46-year-oldHongKong resident
ofItalianorigin whogave his name
as Renatosaid he attended tosupportHongKongpolice and the SARgov-
ernment.
Atab outthe same timeontheKow-
loonPeninsula,oneof the city’s busiest
business districts was almost complete-
lyparalyzed as thousandsofprotesters
against a now-suspended extradition
amendment bill ignoredpolice warn-
ings and blocked majorroads,occupy-
ing a crucial cross-harbor tunnel twice.
The area, which comprises Tsim Sha
Tsui andMongKok, is home tomany
luxury hotels, brand boutiques and
restaurants.
OnAug 3 afternoon,protesters,
many wearing masks and helmets,
deviated from their approved route
and spilledontothemain roads in
MongKok and Tsim Sha Tsui district.
Intheevening,protesters launched
attackson severalpolice stations in
Kowloon. They set cardboardonfire
and hurled bricks at thepolice sta-
tions.Lawless,violentactsinHongKongpromptcentralauthorities
tocallforrestoringorder;thousandsshowsupportforpolice
Desecrationofnational
flaginHKcondemned
People from differentwalksof life gatheratTsim Sha TsuiFerry Pierin Hon
flag afterithad beenthrownintothe harborforasecondtime inthree days
central governmentauthorities,includingthe HongKong andMacaoAffair
andtheLiaisonOffice ofthe CentralPeople’sGovernmentinthe HongKong
condemnedthe illegal actsof insultingthe national flag and challenging naFromleft: Protesterspull downthe Chinesenational flag in Tsim Sha Tsui
intothesea;Riotershold a US flag during conflictwiththe police.PHOTOSPROHongKongresidentsparticipateinarallyatVictoriaParkonAug 3 ,to
showtheirsupportforthe city’spolice and express wishesforthe city
toreturnto peace and order.PHOTOSBYCHINADAILYAHongKong police officerfacesviolentprotestersonAug4.SPOTLIGHT
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