Hong Kong people condemn atrocity of rioters, urge for efforts to stop violence

HONG KONG - Various sectors of Hong Kong on Tuesday condemned the atrocity of rioters and voiced firm support for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and police in stopping violence and restoring peace.

Pro-establishment groups including the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said rioters spread black terror to the society and aimed to cause more casualties, thus all necessary means should be taken to end the chaos as soon as possible.

HKSAR lawmaker Elizabeth Quat said the brutality of rioters, who hurled petrol bombs into trains and set a man aflame, has made resident scared, and called on the HKSAR government to adopt effective measures to protect Hong Kong people.

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said radicals, who paralyzed traffic and prevented people from going to work, disregarded the rights of the vast number of ordinary workers and jeopardized social order and stability.

Another HKSAR lawmaker Leung Mei-fun called for reason and the rule of law and denounced the glorification of violence and the cold-blooded act of setting a man holding different opinions on fire.

She said all members of the public, no matter in which sectors and holding which kind of political views, should jointly stop violence and safeguard the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

No one is allowed to use violent means to damage other people's rights, said Maggie Chan, founding president of the Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong, calling on the police to take all-out efforts to bring offenders to justice and the court to severely punish them to achieve deterrent and preventive effects.

Wong Ping, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of China Business, said the increasing inhuman acts will not frighten Hong Kong people but will strengthen the public's determination to oppose violence.

Chu Kar-kin, a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said universities should not harbor students who wreaked havoc in their own campuses and instead, should cooperate with the police to prevent universities from becoming a safe haven for criminals.

Garry Mak, a young man living in Kowloon, said he lived in fear in recent months and even dared not to go out of home on weekends. "I hope the police can crack down on criminals and protect our safety and property."

A social worker surnamed So said Hong Kong is a multi-faceted society that allows different political views and the violence of rioters will never be accepted. "We support the HKSAR government in bringing an end to violence and chaos as soon as possible and restoring prosperity and stability to Hong Kong."