The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, in separate public announcements on Monday through local newspapers, slammed the "Occupy Central" campaign as sowing social discord, jeopardizing Hong Kong's economy and business environment and undermining the rule of law. The two leading bodies representing the local business community not only expressed their grave concern about the dire consequences "Occupy Central" will inflict on Hong Kong, but also reflected local society's strong resentment for the illegal, ill-motivated, radical political movement. Several recent polls show mainstream public opinion is against "Occupy Central" for fear it will paralyze Central with tremendous damages on Hong Kong's economy and weaken the foundation of the rule of law.

The undeniable reality is that the central government is absolutely unshakable on implementing universal suffrage in Hong Kong strictly according to the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). And the opposition camp is in fact attempting to block the implementation of universal suffrage by threatening to blackmail the central authorities into accepting what they call "true universal suffrage" with "Occupy Central".

"Occupy Central" will hit the heart of Hong Kong's financial industry directly. According to some estimates, it will cost Hong Kong HK$1.6 billion a day in economic losses; if the city's stock exchange cannot operate normally because of "Occupy Central" as much as HK$10 billion of turnover may be lost each hour in missed transactions while the damage to Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center will by immeasurable.

It will also easily paralyze traffic in Central, forcing numerous businesses to shut down for lack of customers. Many transnational finance firms have begun risk assessment of the impending chaos and plan to "move part of their daily operations away from Central". Such cautionary measures will leave a serious open wound in Hong Kong's global image and business environment that may never heal completely.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on May 21.

(HK Edition 05/22/2013 page1)