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Monday, July 22, 2019, 15:59
HK CE: Violence will only breed more violence
By chinadailyhk.com
Monday, July 22, 2019, 15:59 By chinadailyhk.com

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, center, meets the media at the Chief Executive's Office in Hong Kong, July 22, 2019. Standing beside Lam are Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, left, and Hong Kong's Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has sternly denounced violence carried out in the city on Sunday, saying violence would never be a solution but would only breed more violence.  

The whole of Hong Kong and her people will suffer as a result of the loss of law and order in Hong Kong

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong Chief Executive

Such violent acts are vicious, have caused city-wide indignation and will be punished, Lam said while meeting with the press along with other principal officials on Monday.

Radical protesters stormed the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong Sunday evening following a largely peaceful procession on the Hong Kong Island. 

They also charged police’s cordon lines, hurled petrol bombs at officers, set fires, threw bricks, and disrupted traffic in the nearby area in Sheung Wan. Some police officers were injured as a result. 

Assault cases with multiple injuries were also reported in Yuen Long.

The attacks at the liaison office, including defacing the nation emblem at the office entrance, is a blatant defiance to the nation’s sovereignty and an open challenge to the “one country, two systems” principle, Lam said.  

“The whole of Hong Kong and her people will suffer as a result of the loss of law and order in Hong Kong,” she said.

This is absolutely unacceptable to Hong Kong as a society that observes the rule of law. The SAR Government strongly condemns any violence and will seriously take enforcement actions.

Statement by HKSAR government

She also condemned the “astonishing and outrageous” attacks in Yuen Long, during which attackers in white T-shirts assaulted passengers at the Yuen Long metro station with bamboo sticks. 

“The SAR government bears zero tolerance to any kind of violence carried out at anytime, anywhere and at any people. We thus call on all citizens to safeguard the city’s law and order and never resort to violence,” Lam said. 

ALSO READ: HK community condemns violent siege of liaison office

Also meeting the press, the city's Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung called on young people to express their opinions in a peaceful way.

He pledged that the police investigation will be in full swing and will pursue at all costs to bring the offenders to justice.

He added that the police will review their manpower deployment and do their best to ensure the public order and public safety of every district in Hong Kong.


Riot police begin to clear protesters in Sai Wan, Hong Kong Island, after protesters besieged the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (PHOTO BY CHINA DAILY)

The Hong Kong government and police have both condemned violent behaviors in statements issued overnight.

“This is absolutely unacceptable to Hong Kong as a society that observes the rule of law. The SAR Government strongly condemns any violence and will seriously take enforcement actions,” reads a statement released by the HKSAR government early Monday morning.

ALSO READ: HK govt strongly condemns rioters' storming of liaison office

In a press release, police said violent behaviors would not be tolerated. They are actively following up on the two incidents in order to bring the offenders to justice. 

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