Chinese state-run media on Monday called for a "tougher line" on democracy protesters in Hong Kong as it denounced a "terroristic" attack on a state news agency during another weekend of violence in the semi-autonomous city.

Hardcore demonstrators in the financial hub smashed the windows of the official Xinhua news agency's regional bureau on Saturday, capping another weekend of unrest that also saw scores of arrests and a gruesome attack on a pro-democracy lawmaker.

"Vandalizing a news agency is as terroristic as challenging the bottom line of civilization," Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily said in a Facebook post.

The post was accompanied by a video of a man being beaten and stripped of his clothing by people the publication called "rioters" in the Mong Kok area.

"Intensifying violence in Hong Kong calls for tougher line to restore order," the state-run China Daily, an English-language mainland newspaper, said in the headline of an editorial.

The protesters "court the indulgence extended to them by friendly local and Western media outlets, while seeking to silence those trying to put the protests in the spotlight of truth," the article said.

"They are doomed to fail simply because their violence will encounter the full weight of the law."

China has run Hong Kong under a special "one country, two systems" model, which allows the city liberties not seen on the mainland, since the financial hub's handover from the British in 1997.

But public anger has been building for years over fears that Beijing has begun eroding those freedoms, especially since President Xi Jinping came to power.

- Months of unrest -

The nationalist tabloid Global Times called in an editorial on Sunday for "Hong Kong's law enforcement agencies to bring the mob to justice as soon as possible" for vandalising Xinhua's office.

Neither the editorials nor People's Daily's Facebook post mentioned a knife attack on Sunday in Tai Koo Shing, a middle-class neighbourhood on Hong Kong's main island where a rally had been taking place, which left at least five people wounded.

Eyewitnesses told local media that a Mandarin-speaking man attacked people on Sunday shortly after shouting pro-Beijing slogans. In Hong Kong, the lingua franca is Cantonese.

Live footage showed Andrew Chiu, a local pro-democracy councillor, having his ear bitten off after trying to subdue the attacker, while a second man was seen unconscious in a growing pool of blood as bystanders desperately tried to stem wounds to his back.

Hong Kong has seen months of protests, initially sparked by opposition to a now-scrapped proposal to allow extraditions of criminal suspects to mainland China.

They quickly snowballed into a wider anti-government movement after Beijing and local leaders in Hong Kong took a hard line.

Beijing warned on Friday after a four-day meeting of Communist Party leaders that it would not tolerate any challenges to its authority over Hong Kong, while laying out plans to boost patriotism in the city and change how its leader is chosen or removed.

China Daily also noted that the party plans to strengthen Hong Kong's legal system to "safeguard national security".

"Those Hong Kong residents whose lives have been disrupted by the intensifying violence of intimidation -- instigated and organized by those hoping to use Hong Kong as a means to destabilize the nation -- will be glad when life returns to normal," the newspaper said.

Six wounded as knife attack caps day of Hong Kong political chaos
Hong Kong (AFP) Nov 3, 2019 - A man went on a knife rampage in Hong Kong late Sunday leaving at least six people wounded, including a local pro-democracy politician who had his ear bitten off, capping another chaotic day of political unrest in the city.

Flashmob rallies erupted inside multiple shopping centers across the international finance hub over the afternoon, sparking frequent clashes with riot police.

The violence was less sustained than Saturday when police and protesters fought hours of cat and mouse battles after thousands took the streets for an unsanctioned march.

But the day ended with a knife attack taking place outside a shopping mall in Tai Koo Shing, a middle-class neighbourhood on the main island where protesters had gathered for much of the afternoon.

Eye-witnesses told local media that a Mandarin-speaking man attacked people shortly after shouting pro-Beijing slogans.

Live footage showed Andrew Chiu, a local pro-democracy councillor, had his ear bitten off after trying to subdue the attacker, while a second man was seen unconscious in a growing pool of blood as bystanders desperately tried to stem wounds to his back.

The alleged assailant, wearing a grey t-shirt, was then beaten bloody by the crowd.

Police told AFP that six people in total were wounded -- four men and two women -- and that three people were arrested, without detailing whether the alleged attacker was among those counted as injured.

An eye-witness, who gave her surname Leung, told RTHK News that the man shouted in Mandarin -- the language spoken on the Chinese mainland -- before attacking her brother-in-law who argued with him.

"The man came out from the doorway and yelled a sentence in Mandarin, it seemed like liberate Taiwan or something," she said.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where Chiu was taken to, pro-democracy lawmaker James To said the attacker shouted "reclaim Taiwan and Hong Kong".

Communist China views self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

- City divided -

Hong Kong has been upended by the huge, often violent, pro-democracy protests which have battered the financial hub's reputation for stability and helped plunge the city into recession.

Police are firing ever increasing rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets against small groups of hardcore protesters who have embraced throwing petrol bombs as well as vandalising pro-China businesses.

With the city desperately polarised, street fights have broken out on both sides of the ideological divide with growing frequency.

Beijing supporters have attacked opponents throughout the summer, often in targeted assaults against prominent government critics and opposition politicians.

Earlier this month a man handing out pro-democracy flyers was stabbed in the stomach by a man who shouted slogans in Mandarin and was later arrested.

In Hong Kong, the lingua franca is Cantonese.

But the violence is far from one-sided.

Crowds of pro-democracy protesters have also routinely beaten their ideological opponents, usually in spontaneous mob violence during rallies.

With no political solution in sight, there are few signs of the spiralling violence and polarisation letting up.

Beijing has shown no willingness to meet demonstrators demands for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability -- and activists show no sign of leaving the streets with 22 consecutive weekends of unrest.

This summer's first protests in which millions marched were sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the mainland.

But as Beijing took a hardline the movement snowballed.

Protesters are demanding an inquiry into the police, an amnesty for those arrested and fully free elections.

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Homework curfew for Chinese children sparks heated debate
Beijing (AFP) Oct 31, 2019
A new rule being mulled in China to allow schoolchildren to go to bed by 10pm, even if they haven't finished their homework, has prompted heated debate about the country's education system. Eastern Zhejiang province has published a draft guideline proposing students go to bed at a decent hour - with parents' approval - even if they still have unfinished schoolwork to do. The time mooted is 9pm for primary school students and 10pm for middle school students. Chinese schoolchildren have a no ... read more