Photo: VCG

The storming and vandalizing of the Hong Kong Legislative Council building by some extremists has sent a shock wave. It has sounded the alarm for Hong Kong society that such a deplorable scene, in which rule of law was trampled upon, happened in the international financial center.

The violence has embarrassed some Westerners who have long shown partiality to Hong Kong demonstrators. But some others attributed the violence to a lack of response from the Hong Kong government to opposition demands. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite widespread criticism of the violence, claimed that the Hong Kong protesters "have inspired the world" and their courage should not be ignored.

There is growing vigilance and resentment worldwide against violent demonstrations. Since the end of the Cold War, countries which witnessed political upheavals caused by violent demonstrations have fallen into long-term chaos, stagnation and even retrogression. The Color Revolutions didn't bring any country what the protesters initially expected. 

Western countries are tough in cracking down on violent demonstrations happened in their own countries. Britain unrelentingly reprimanded the demonstrators in the London riots in 2011, a typical example of how the West deals with domestic violent demonstrations.

But outside the Western realm, the West backs almost all riots and even color revolutions that go against their governments. The West has been lending strong spiritual support to violent protests around the world. On many occasions, non-governmental organizations, diplomats and intelligence agencies of the West have acted behind the curtain to escalate riots. 

In recent decades, the West has been interested in promoting "revolutions" in many countries and praising the protesters. But when those countries hit by color revolution run into turmoil and need economic assistance, Western countries run away.

In most societies, economic problems are caused by economic reasons, which can hardly be resolved politically. 

Hong Kong needs to inject new impetus in the deep layer of its economy and people's livelihood. This is a universal problem. US populism emerged from white middle-class people's dissatisfaction with their conditions. The Trump administration attributes all problems of the US to other countries taking advantage of the US on trade and misleads public opinion with trade wars. Many Americans are actually aware that their problems can only be solved by patient reforms. 

Supported by Western forces, certain extremists in Hong Kong have spared no effort to instill in Hong Kong society such an idea: To tackle all problems, Hong Kong must be more "democratic," more street demonstrators are needed, and violence should be resorted to, if necessary.

Nonetheless, Hong Kong is a developed society. With its tradition of valuing the rule of law, its high quality citizens, and the backing of the motherland, copying the "color revolution" commonly seen in backward areas will definitely be resisted in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the will of the central government and mainland society to oppose Hong Kong's turmoil is an insurmountable hurdle for those forces.

Safeguarding the rule of law is the Hong Kong society's common value. External forces must respect this core interest of Hong Kong society and stop supporting violent protests. Otherwise, they are against all Chinese people.