LARGE groups of Hong Kong people visited several police stations in Hong Kong on Saturday to express their firm support for and utmost respect to the police force.

The scene stood in stark contrast to the chaotic and violent besieges of police stations by black-clad protesters on many nights over the past weeks.

“The police have been working really hard to safeguard social order. We came here to show our support,” said a resident surnamed Chan, who visited Kwai Chung Police Station with his wife and son. The boy gave the police a hand-written card as a gift.

“I hope our children can learn to love peace and how to act as righteous people,” Chan said. “I also want to see society restore order.”

Local business leader Raymond Tsoi Chi-chung and his friends visited Central Police Station to express their support to the “core force for protecting Hong Kong.”

“Recent violent incidents have reduced Hong Kong to an economic trough,” Tsoi said. “I hope Hong Kong people can focus on stabilizing the economy.”

A police officer surnamed Lau has become an Internet celebrity after a video went viral showing him confronting a crowd of protesters that had surrounded and attacked him.

“Hong Kong police are capable of coping with the mobsters, but it has torn my heart out either to hit them or not, as they are also Chinese,” said Lau in a text message to a reporter, which drew immense online support for both his bravery and compassion.

Over the past two months, Hong Kong police have been praised for showing professionalism and exercising restraint with the use of appropriate force to cope with violent protests.

Also on Saturday, China urged the U.K. to stop its interference in China’s internal affairs and stop making random and inflammatory accusations regarding Hong Kong.

“I’d like to point out that Hong Kong today is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. Long gone are the days when it was under British colonial rule,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had a phone call Friday with Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on the situation in Hong Kong.

Hua said the U.K. has no sovereignty, jurisdiction or right of supervision over Hong Kong when asked to comment on the call.

On Friday, several thousand protesters thronged into the Hong Kong airport without registering with the police in advance.

The black-clad demonstrators, who mostly wore masks, started to sit on the ground of the arrival hall of Hong Kong International Airport at noon, shouting out anti-government slogans.

Several protesters waved U.S. and British flags. A woman in white questioned the behavior in Cantonese and called them “traitors.”

“You are Chinese. You are Hong Kong residents. You should love the place and mustn’t mess up the place,” said the woman.

(Xinhua)