Thousands gather in Sydney calling for end to violence in China's Hong Kong

"A Chinese friend of mine works in a hotel. it's not safe for her to get home in the middle of the night now," Mem told Xinhua.

"At first I could understand their purpose and why they were having their protests. I even have a friend who was involved in the protests."

"But everything just started to turn in a really bad way and I asked my friend a few days ago and she said many of the protesters began to do extreme things. It has now become chaos. It's getting really, really bad."

With large-scale protests beginning back in June, the situation has quickly continued to escalate.