HONG KONG, July 22 (Xinhua) -- People from all walks of life in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have strongly condemned those radical protesters who besieged the building of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR and defaced the national emblem on Sunday evening.
A peaceful procession ended violent on Sunday in Hong Kong as some protesters surrounded the building of the liaison office. The radicals devastated facilities, defaced the national emblem, and painted words insulting the country and nation.
The national emblem, as the symbol of the country, should be respected and cherished by all organizations and citizens, said Tung Chee-hwa, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Tung said defacing the national emblem is a blatant challenge to the national sovereignty and the authority of the central government, calling for severe punishment.
Leung Chun-ying, also vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, issued four posts on social media network to denounce the behaviors. "I ask all of you to condemn it online and offline. We want to let the whole nation know that Hong Kong people do not tolerate these reckless thugs who forget their ancestors."
Bernard Charnwut Chan, a non-official member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR, said council members unanimously condemned the incident and stressed that violence is definitely not the way to solve the problem, adding it is absolutely not acceptable that the demonstrators have stormed the liaison office and defaced the national emblem.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said in a statement that these practices challenged the bottom line of "one country, two systems" and would never be tolerated, expressing the strongest condemnation and urging for more efforts to safeguard national dignity and peace in Hong Kong.
Legal groups and professionals in Hong Kong said it is a serious criminal offense to storm the central government organs based in Hong Kong and defile the national emblem.
The Hong Kong and Mainland Legal Profession Association said in a statement that painting the national emblem is a clear violation of article 7 of the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance of HKSAR and should be investigated strictly according to the law.
The Hong Kong Legal Professionals Association and the Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong also pointed out that the act is a serious insult to the national dignity and a flagrant challenge to the national sovereignty, calling on the police to investigate the incident seriously and bring the rioters to justice as soon as possible.
Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, a CPPCC National Committee member and a renowned lawyer, cited the regulations that anyone desecrates the national flag or national emblem by publicly and willfully burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling on it commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 5 and to imprisonment for three years.
The Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers called on Hong Kong citizens to protect the "one country, two systems" in its statement.
Every Hong Kong citizen who loves Hong Kong must stand out to support the HKSAR government and the police to defend the rule of law, take decisive, necessary action to curb spreading violence, and restore the harmonious and stable social order, as well as ensure stable implementation of the "one country, two systems," the federation said.
Friends of Hong Kong Association, Hong Kong Island Federation, Hong Kong Quality And Talent Migrants Association and many other local communities also strongly condemned the acts.
Joe Chau Kwok-ming, president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, described the incident as outrageous and said that anyone with conscience and recognizing the rule of law should be united and oppose such acts.
The associations called on citizens to defend Hong Kong from violence and urged the HKSAR government to take resolute measures and severely punish the rioters to safeguard national sovereignty and the "one country, two systems" principle.
