China says Hong Kong protests 'absolutely intolerable'

An image from a video shows a confrontation between masked assailants and protesters at Yuen Long MTR train station. Pic/AP

Beijing: China reacted furiously on Monday to anti-government protesters vandalising the walls of its representative's office in Hong Kong and defacing the national emblem, branding their actions "absolutely intolerable".

Thousands of masked pro-democracy demonstrators briefly occupied the road outside the office Sunday night and targeted the building with eggs, projectiles, laser lights and graffiti in a stark rebuke to Beijing's rule.

Hong Kong has been shaken by massive, sometimes violent, protests initially organised to oppose a now-suspended bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
They have now morphed into a wider and sometimes violent movement for democratic reforms.

"Actions by some radical demonstrators have affected the bottom line of the 'one country, two systems' principle, and that is absolutely intolerable," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing, referring to the former British colony's special status under the terms of its 1997 handover to China.

Geng said Beijing opposes all acts of violence and "firmly" supports the use of "all necessary measures to safeguard central government agencies in Hong Kong". Protesters have vowed to sustain pressure until their core demands - including universal suffrage and the resignation of the city's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam - are met. So far, Beijing has refused to budge.

Mob injures 45 people
At least 45 people have been injured in an unprecedented violence at a Hong Kong railway station as a rampaging mob armed with metal rods assaulted pro-democracy protesters as well as passengers indiscriminately.

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