HK gov't strongly condemns vandalistic, violent acts of radical protesters

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has strongly condemned the vandalistic and violent acts of radical protesters in Kowloon district on Saturday.

National flag of the People's Republic of China and regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flutter at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. [File Photo: IC]

The police will strictly follow up on all the illegal acts, a spokesperson of the HKSAR government said in a statement issued late Saturday, appealing to the protesters to stop the violence so that order can be restored in society as soon as possible.

Some protesters deviated from the approved route during the demonstration and set up barricades on a number of roads in Kowloon East and in Sham Shui Po, paralyzing traffic and affecting the emergency services, the spokesperson said.

The violent protesters also vandalized public property, committed arson, hurled suspected petrol bombs and attacked police officers with bricks, jeopardizing the safety of members of the public and police officers, the spokesperson said.

In response to smart lampposts deliberately damaged by protesters, the spokesperson said the HKSAR government has repeatedly clarified such lampposts do not carry any facial recognition function and would not infringe upon personal privacy, only introduced to collect city data such as traffic and air quality data.

However, irrational protesters disregarded the facts and blatantly damaged the smart lampposts, the spokesperson said.

Given the violent acts on Saturday, police began dispersal operation after repeated warnings issued to the protesters went futile, the Hong Kong police said Sunday in a statement.

During the operation, police arrested 19 men and 10 women, aged 17 to 52, for offenses including unlawful assembly, possession of offensive weapons and assaulting police officers, according to the statement.