HK violence criticized by overseas students

The clashes between protesters and Hong Kong police officers have drawn criticism from many in the overseas Chinese community, some of whom have banded together to condemn the protests, which have turned increasingly violent on the pretext of opposing the amendment of the extradition bill.

"There are many ways to express your thoughts. Shame on those people," Sean Li, president of the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at University of California in San Francisco, said in a post on WeChat.

A postdoctoral scholar at a research university in Southern California who identified himself only as Allen told China Daily that he sincerely wishes the matter could be resolved quickly and in a nonviolent way.

"Any form of violence deserves condemnation and has to be stopped immediately. The whole movement which persisted for more than two months definitely has tremendous negative impact on the business, economy and people's lives in the city of Hong Kong, which I used to live and study for more than four years in, and indeed has a special place in my heart," said Allen, who got his doctorate at a Hong Kong university.

"Violence can lead nobody to nowhere but totally chaotic misery. Any humiliating and harmful action towards innocent people needs to be strongly condemned and participants in such unlawful activity deserve proper legal punishment," he added.

Lilian, an alumna of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who has settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, said she felt pain seeing the city torn apart by protesters.

"The derailing of law and order, the escalation of the tension among social groups, and the stunning cruelty the riots have demonstrated over the past months all saddened me," Lilian wrote in the WeChat group of her alma mater. "I'm not sure how the others perceive my message, but open communication is important."

On Monday and Tuesday, thousands of protesters swarmed the main terminal building of the Hong Kong International Airport, causing cancellations of departing and arriving flights and temporarily shutting down the facility.

Two mainland residents were illegally detained and beaten on Tuesday night by protesters who occupied the airport. The two are a Global Times reporter and a Shenzhen resident who was accused of being an undercover police officer from the mainland. After the assault, the two were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment.

In a previous interview with China Daily, Samuel Kang, the mayor pro-tem of the city of Duarte, California, called on the protesters to reflect before engaging in violence.

"They only live in this small place called Hong Kong, and they think they don't have the freedom. They really have great freedom and autonomy over there. I think they should really talk to other people to really understand everywhere, and anywhere around the world, any nations, have their strong points and also have things that need to be improved on," he said.

"They should be proud of who they are, and China is doing so much to help Hong Kong and expand Hong Kong and expand the economic development zone with Zhuhai and Shenzhen and with Macau. These young people somehow, perhaps, are under the influence of some other people; they really need to reflect and understand they have a great place," he added.

A USC professor, who preferred anonymity, told China Daily that any solution to the turmoil in Hong Kong should be carried out under the standing political system.

"If someone takes any action in violation of the 'one country, two systems' framework, then any measures that the Chinese government takes against Hong Kong will have the solid support of the 1.4 billion Chinese people," he said.

Someone put up a "John Lennon Wall" at UC Berkeley filled with sticky notes in support of the protesters, which quickly led to clashes among students.

Many students from the Chinese mainland have been tearing the notes down and adding their own messages in support of China, KGO-TV San Francisco reported.

Many young netizens from China also have taken to Instagram and Twitter to express their support for the police, using the hashtag #whatashametohongkong.

As of Thursday afternoon, the hashtag had more than 9,700 posts on Instagram.

Chang Jun in San Francisco contributed to this story