The Xinhua News Agency's Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau office building in Hong Kong Photo:Xinhua

A group of rioters gathered illegally in several areas of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) without the approval of the police on Saturday afternoon. Some rioters damaged the glass gate and entry pass of the Hong Kong Branch of the Xinhua News Agency in Wan Chai area, and threw fire bombs into the lobby, which caught fire.

The fire was put out soon and there were no casualties. However, the brazenly violent crime is another example of the rule of law being trampled in Hong Kong.

We strongly condemn the violent crimes against the facilities of Xinhua's Hong Kong branch and call on Hong Kong's law enforcement agencies to bring the mob to justice as soon as possible and the SAR's judiciary to punish the crime according to its severity.

Only in this way can further damage to the rule of law in Hong Kong be prevented, thus curbing the rise of violent crime.

For several consecutive months, some extremist forces and rioters in Hong Kong have wantonly destroyed public order and facilities. Such behavior does not have any legitimacy, but because of various complicated factors in Hong Kong, it has followed a growing trend. 

Prior to this, the thugs also attacked the Hong Kong Legislative Council and government agencies, and burned many branches of the Bank of China in Hong Kong. The vandalizing of Xinhua's Hong Kong office shows a new escalation in violence and destruction on the island.

First, Xinhua is a news agency and no civilized society will tolerate the destructive crimes against news organization. Moreover, its Hong Kong branch, founded in 1947, is not an ordinary news agency as it had unique contributions in the process of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

The rioters had obvious political intentions and sinister designs in setting fire to the branch of the news agency.

Due to the symbolic image of Xinhua, the vandalizing of its branch is not only a provocation to the rule of law in Hong Kong, but also to the central government and the Chinese mainland, which is the rioters' main purpose.

They try all they can to intensify the contradictions between the mainland and Hong Kong through violence, hijacking the stability and prosperity of entire city with their paranoia.

Vandalism is a serious crime in any country or region. What does it have to do with the so-called freedom of demonstration or expression? 

It is urgent to stop violence and control chaos. Particularly the Hong Kong judicial department should not make judgments that encourage violent activities. For example, those who insulted the national flag in Hong Kong were sentenced to only 200 hours of social service, which sent the wrong message.

Such a judgment is not different than being an accomplice of the mob, and it has become a real obstacle in the way of Hong Kong trying to stop violence.

Hong Kong cannot be chaotic anymore. More Hong Kong residents should stand up to fight against violence and refuse to be accomplices of the rioters. This will safeguard their vital interests in the first place.