THE most pressing and overriding task for Hong Kong is to stop the violence, end the chaos and restore order, a Central Government official said in Shenzhen yesterday.

Hong Kong is facing the most severe situation since its return to the motherland, said Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, at a symposium jointly held by the office and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

“The most pressing and overriding task at present is to stop the violence, end the chaos and restore order, so as to safeguard our homeland and prevent Hong Kong from sinking into an abyss,” Zhang said.

More than 550 people attended the meeting, including HKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress, national and provincial political advisers from HKSAR, leaders of patriotic political and social organizations in Hong Kong, as well as those from relevant youth, education and professional organizations, and mainland enterprises operating in Hong Kong.

At the meeting, Zhang briefed the attendees on the Central authorities’ policies on stabilizing Hong Kong’s situation while Wang Zhimin, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR, proposed how to implement the policies.

If the violence and chaos are allowed to continue, not only the safety of Hong Kong citizens’ lives and property will be endangered, the governance authority of the SAR government, the cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong, the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and the “one country, two systems” will also be destroyed, Zhang said.

“Citizens of Hong Kong will not allow this to happen. All the people of China will not allow this to happen,” Zhang said.

He said the Central authorities will never sit by if the situation in Hong Kong worsens to a turmoil that the SAR government cannot control.

“According to the Basic Law [of Hong Kong], the Central authorities have ample methods as well as sufficient strength to promptly settle any possible turmoil should it occur,” he said.

China on Tuesday again demanded relevant U.S. politicians immediately stop condoning violent crimes and interfering in Hong Kong affairs, saying any attempt to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs won’t succeed.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the call when commenting on U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s latest stance on Hong Kong.

Hua said the recent demonstrations in Hong Kong have turned into radical, violent and illegal behaviors, with a small number of radicals committing misdeeds, including setting fires and hiding a lot of offensive weapons.

“Pelosi and other U.S. politicians have been calling white black time and again, bolstering violent radical criminals and even beautifying and whitewashing their behaviors. They’ve wantonly smeared and vilified the just move of the SAR government and police to uphold the rule of law and order,” said Hua. “This is no different from covering up, conniving at and supporting illegal criminal behaviors, which again reveals their malicious intention of being anti-China and messing up Hong Kong.”(Xinhua)