More than 245 members of the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Association wearing orange uniforms and holding Chinese national flags rallied at the Victoria Centre in North Point, Hong Kong, on Saturday. Photo: Yang Sheng/GT

More than 245 members of the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Association rallied at the Victoria Centre in North Point, Hong Kong, on Saturday, calling for an end to violence and rioting to protect the city. 

Many of the participants were dressed in orange and white vests, while some held anti-riot and patriotic banners, as well as Chinese national flags and the flag of the HKSAR, and chanted slogans about protecting Hong Kong from violence.

Dozens of Fujian community leaders from different districts of Hong Kong took the stage to support the HKSAR government and warned against using violence to fight against violence. But they stressed they would also use "self-defense within the legal framework."

North Point is a district in Hong Kong with many residents who originally came from Fujian Province in Chinese mainland.

Lo Man Tuen, permanent honorary president of the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Association, told the Global Times that the Fujian associations will not provoke anyone, but if they are threatened by rioters, they will use self-defense. He added that the violent conflict in North Point on Monday between a few Fujian residents in the district and rioters who came to make trouble was totally caused by the rioters.

"They came here to smash public facilities, using obstacles to block the roads, and these actions seriously threatened the safety of the local people, so a few local residents launched a counter-attack as they were forced to do so," he said.

Lo said to the members of the association that they should exercise maximum restraint and not provoke the protesters, and let the police deal with the rioters on a legal basis.

Lo also criticized the rioters and radical protesters who ruined Hong Kong's economy. He called on Fujian residents in Hong Kong to be united and support the government and the police to stop the violence and riots, and rebuild the economy and restore the peace and stability for the city.