Hong Kong's legal and political heavyweights on Wednesday decried protesters' "barbaric" and "irresponsible" acts, including violent clashes with police that had brought the Legislative Council's operations to a halt earlier that day.

Their remarks came in a statement following an unlawful assembly against the government's proposed bill to amend the city's extradition laws. The protest brought traffic in the city's Central and Admiralty districts to a standstill.

The statement was issued by a Hong Kong-based alliance in support of a government move to plug legal loopholes in the city's extradition laws. By 1 am on Thursday, an online signature campaign launched by the alliance had seen more than 916,933 people pledge support for the government's proposed amendments.

Ignoring police's repeated warnings, masked protesters besieged the LegCo Complex, paralyzing the city's legislature, which had been scheduled to resume the second reading of the bill on Wednesday.

In the statement, the alliance, led by city leaders from a number of sectors, said it strongly condemns some protesters' illegal acts, including violent clashes with police and death threats to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

"It is frenzied and devoid of humanity that some even sent out death threats to the chief executive and her family members," the statement added.

The alliance said it hopes Hong Kong police will perform their duty and strictly enforce the law, as well as safeguard the city's stability and residents' well-being.

In addition, the statement urged people to voice their views on the rendition bill to the government via rational and lawful channels.

Maria Tam Wai-chu, deputy director of the HKSAR Basic Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said she was "heartbroken" after seeing clashes between protesters and the police.

Tam criticized those protesters who continued to deliberately provoke police even after LegCo had announced earlier in the morning it would postpone the second reading of the bill.

Veteran lawyers cautioned the city's youngsters not to join the illegal assembly, noting that most of the protesters were secondary school and university students who risked being injured and breaking the law.

Tam said leaders and teachers in the schools should make an appeal to students to avoid the chaotic scene.

Echoing Tam, Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, warned that lawbreakers must bear the legal consequences of their actions.

Protesters in the unlawful assembly who assaulted the police might face penalties for violating the law, Ma said. For instance, those convicted of disorder in public places face 12 months' imprisonment and a fine, he added.

Stanley Ng Chau-pei - president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the city's largest labor group - said the issue has been politicized with interference by foreign forces. He called on Hong Kong people to stay rational and express views in peaceful ways.

The protest harmed public interests, disrupted social orders and economic development, and caused inconvenience to the people of Hong Kong, Ng said.

Such illegal and violent assemblies must not be tolerated, he added, urging the public not to get involved.

Traffic on Harcourt Road outside the Central Government Offices in Admiralty becomes jammed on Wednesday as protesters blocked the arterial road. Roy Liu / China Daily

(HK Edition 06/13/2019 page5)