国内英语新闻:Hong Kong society strongly condemns act of flinging Chinese national flag into sea

HONG KONG, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- People from all walks of life in Hong Kong have expressed their indignation over the act by some radicals of flinging the Chinese national flag into the sea.

They strongly condemned the act as a flagrant trampling on the national dignity and the principle of "one country, two systems," calling on the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to hold the perpetrators accountable.

A video posted online on Saturday showed some black-clad radicals scaled a flagpole near Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor, and removed from it the Chinese national flag, while some accomplices used umbrellas to keep the whole act from public view.

With playful laughters, they later flung the flag into the water, according to Hong Kong media.

Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, issued three posts on the social media to express his "strongest condemnation" of the act.

He also offered a reward of 1 million Hong Kong dollars (about 128,000 U.S. dollars) for those who offer useful information leading to the capture of whoever committed the crime.

Chan Man Ki, founding president of the Small and Medium Law Firms Association of Hong Kong, also expressed her strongest condemnation of the act, saying that it is punishable for fines and a jail term of three years according to relevant Hong Kong regulations.

Chan said from storming and vandalizing the Legislative Council (LegCo) building, storming the institution of the central government in Hong Kong and defacing the Chinese national emblem, to throwing the national flag into the sea, some radicals have been escalating their behaviors in an attempt to abuse the principle of "one country, two systems" and trample on the national dignity.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions issued a statement to express strong condemnation of the crime.

Noting that the misdeed of the perpetrators is an outrage and has crossed the bottom line, the statement denounced the "wirepullers" for inciting young people to undermine Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.

A statement issued by the Friends of Hong Kong Association condemned the act and called on the SAR government to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The New People's Party also slammed the act as being "lawless" and "an insult and challenge to state sovereignty."

Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung, a Chinese national political advisor, said the extremist act was an "outrage" and a "serious crime" and must be punished.