Dream on: China warns nationals against replicating Hong Kong style protest

Beijing: Wary over the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong spreading to China, the official media here said that any attempt to launch a “colour revolution” in the mainland would be futile and a day dream. “Any intention among a small number of people to hold a colour revolution on the mainland through Hong Kong would be a daydream,” the ruling Communist Party of China’s official mouthpiece, the People’s Daily said. In a front-page commentary under the headline, “Determined to protect the rule of law in Hong Kong,” the newspaper said yesterday that democracy without the rule of law would only result in chaos. [caption id=“attachment_1742903” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The Occupy Central protests involving thousands of students in Hong Kong opposing the rule to screen the candidates to contest for the post of Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017 polls wear blue ribbons as the identity of their protest movement. “Colour revolution” is a term widely used to describe various movements in the former Soviet Union republics during the early 2000s that led to the overthrow of governments. The term was also applied to uprisings in the Middle East in recent years. It was the third day in a row the party-run newspaper had carried front-page commentary on the protests in Hong Kong that entered its second week today. Occupy Central “would also cause significant economic loss, and possibly serious consequences in terms of injuries and deaths,” Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post quoted the Daily’s commentary as saying. The People’s Daily also reported that business had fallen for many hotels, and some overseas investors had put their Hong Kong investment plans on hold. It added that voters in US had a “limited choice” of presidential candidates and the British made no attempt to introduce democracy in Hong Kong when they ruled the city. The commentary said, Occupy Central was illegal even though it was branded as “civil disobedience” and peaceful, and Hong Kong police had no alternative but to fire tear gas. “Dealing with illegal activities through legal means is the best safeguard for the rule of law, and a strong defence for democracy,” it said. “No one can ignore the law. No one is an exception to the rule of law, and young people and students should also obey the law,” it added. PTI