Protesters run away when police move forward near the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 30, 2020. Demonstrations and riots have spread to cities across the United States after a video went viral of George Floyd being suffocated to death by a white police officer in the midwest U.S. state of Minnesota on May 25. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Former chief executive of Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region (HKSAR) suggested that when comparing the characteristics of the chaos and violence in the US, the unrest that started in Hong Kong last summer clearly had backstage manipulators.

US protesters were not wearing helmets or gas masks or using radio equipment, no Octopus cards, or Molotov cocktail factories, no on-site cash receipts or clusters of amateur 'reporters' and medical teams, and no '612 Fund,' Leung said on Facebook. 

"If you used to believe that there were no black hands and paymasters in the riots in Hong Kong over the past year, do you still believe it now?" said Leung. 

Leung's post received support from Hong Kong and Chinese mainland netizens. Many slammed the Hong Kong rioters and the "brazen double standards" of the US politicians who supported the HK protesters and intensified social unrest.

"Compared with the unrest in the US, the riots in Hong Kong, which wields youth as their weapon and shield, were highly organized and premeditated," said one Hong Kong Facebook user.

"I have always believed that there were black hands behind the rioters, otherwise, how could black-clad thugs risk jail time to destroy their city?" said another Hong Kong netizen, expressed support for the Hong Kong national security law. 

"Why do the US politicians support the violent suppression of domestic protests but condemn the proper enforcement of laws by the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong police? It's a brazen double standard," said a netizen on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Sunday. 

Protesters in cities across the US burned police stations, looted stores, and destroyed public facilities in response to the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Analysts believe the US is incapable of calming the outrage demonstrated at the bottom of its society, especially as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) enjoys unprecedented freedom spreading across the country while the US president focuses solely on his re-election campaign.

"A true tragedy is happening in the US. I wonder how those politicians feel about the heating-up unrest caused by racists? I hope the US government can show restraint and address the needs of their people, just like what they said during Hong Kong's unrest," said another Weibo user. 

In response to the US enactment of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Law, China imposed sanctions on five US NGOs for inciting separatist activities last December. 

Global Times