HONG KONG -- Hong Kong is facing its "most severe situation" since its handover from British rule in 1997 after weeks of demonstrations and the central government is considering what measures to take next, the head of Beijing's Cabinet office responsible for the territory said Wednesday.
Zhang Xiaoming, the director of China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office, was speaking to Hong Kong residents attending a seminar in the mainland city of Shenzhen, just across the border from the Asian financial hub that has been wracked by daily protests against the administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
Those protests are getting increasingly violent and having "an increasingly broad impact on society," Zhang told the 500 attendees, who included members of the Hong Kong and central government legislative and advisory bodies.
"It can be said that Hong Kong is facing the most severe situation it has faced since the handover," Zhang said.
Officials in Beijing were "highly concerned" and studying the situation to decide on measures to take, he said.
Hong Kong was returned to China under the framework of "one country, two systems," which promised the city political, civil and economic freedoms not allowed under Communist Party rule on the mainland.
However, many Hong Kong residents feel Beijing has been increasingly encroaching on their freedoms. The protests were set off by proposed extradition legislation that if passed would have allowed some suspects to be sent to China, where critics say they could face possible torture and unfair trials.
China so far has not visibly intervened in the situation, though in editorials and statements from officials it has condemned demonstrators and protest organizers as criminals, clowns and "violent radicals" and alleged that they have been inflamed by politicians from the U.S., Taiwan and elsewhere.
Speculation that the military could be deployed grew after Chinese officials pointed to an article in Hong Kong law that allows troops already stationed in the city to help with "public order maintenance" at the Hong Kong government's request.
Hong Kong authorities have said they don't anticipate any need to bring in troops or police from China to help impose order. Observers say Beijing will likely try to wait the protesters out, hoping rising violence and inconvenience will turn the tide of public opinion against them.
Lam reappeared Wednesday at the opening of an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist state.
"Over recent months, conditions in Hong Kong society have been extremely unstable," Lam said in remarks distributed by her office. "The special administrative region government will certainly join with all of you to deal with it calmly, restore social order, safeguard rule of law and cherish Hong Kong, cherish 'one country, two systems,' and cherish our home."
With Hong Kong's crucial travel industry suffering as tourists put off their visits, the U.S. became the latest country to issue a travel safety warning to its citizens, joining Australia, Ireland, Britain, Singapore and Japan.
Protesters have come from all professions and age groups. On Wednesday, several hundred lawyers sought a meeting with Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng and staged a silent protest.
Margaret Ng, a lawyer and a former lawmaker, said they wanted to meet Cheng and the director of public prosecution to seek an assurance that there was no political motive in prosecution of those detained in the protests.
More than 500 people have been arrested since the protests began in June and dozens have already been charged with rioting, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Information for this article was contributed by Eileen Ng of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/08/2019