Hong Kong society is fed up with rioters

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government strongly condemned the criminal acts by rioters at a number of locations in Kowloon, including arson and vandalism and the now habitual gas-bombing of police, after hardcore rioters went on a rampage again on Sunday.

But it is notable that the scale of the rioting had shrunk significantly in comparison to those on previous weekends over the past four months, with much fewer people taking part in Sunday's disturbances than previously.

The fall in the number of participants tallies with another new development: Not only were there fewer hardcore rioters, there were also fewer onlookers acting as cheerleaders and human shields for the rioters when the police arrived. It seems that more and more previously misguided people are realizing that the violence is not in Hong Kong's best interests.