Hong Kong Strongly Condemns Vandalistic Acts of Protesters

Hong Kong’s government has strongly condemned the vandalistic acts of radical western-backed protesters, as more actions to affect the city’s infrastructure and normalization of activities continue. 

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Saturday's planned airport disruption was thwarted by police who were ready, with authorities searching public transport heading for the airport ahead of what was planned to be a "stress test" of road and rail links to one of the world's busiest airports.

Hong Kong Police will take "resolute enforcement actions" to protect the safety and rights of the members of the public, a spokesman of the government said in a statement issued early Saturday.

This comes as protesters attacked a police station, extensively vandalized public property and Mass Transit Railway stations, destroying three stations, setting areas on fire and vandalizing walls on Friday night. 

Calling the behaviors "outrageous," the spokesman said that the offenders breached the public peace and their acts seriously affected public services, disregarding the needs and rights of other members of the public.

"Also it is extremely dangerous to set fires in busy areas, jeopardizing people's safety," he added. The U.S. continues to support such tactics and acts against the Asian nation.

Hong Kong police take every case very seriously and have zero-tolerance for all unlawful acts, vowing to make every effort to bring all offenders to justice. Since last weekend, the Hong Kong police have arrested 26 people suspected of participating in serious violent incidents since protests began June 9.

On-spot arrests don't mean the police will neglect the crime, Tse said. Over the past two months, nearly 900 people involved in violent incidents have been arrested. 

On Sept. 4 Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam laid out her plans to end the western-backed protests, including the formal withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill, which sparked the protests 14-weeks ago.

The move has been celebrated in Chinese public media as a sign of conciliation and peace, the Global Times stated. Although, extremist sections within the protest movement have rejected the measures.

Protesters are angered at local authorities who they believe to be too close to Beijing. Despite being part of China since 1997, the area has a degree of autonomy from the mainland, and many do not identify with Beijing preferring to side with colonial rule (1842-1997) under the United Kingdom and now the U.S.