Rule of law is Hong Kong's most valuable possession

In its first ever news briefing on Monday, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, the country's top office in charge of the affairs of the two special administrative regions, expressed the central government's concern about the well-being of Hong Kong in light of the continuing violent protests in the city.

No society under the rule of law will tolerate rampant violence, a spokesperson said, calling on all sectors of Hong Kong society to "clearly oppose violence", "strongly uphold the rule of law" and end the political gridlock to focus on economic development and improving people's livelihoods.

Weeks of violence by a few radicals have damaged Hong Kong's reputation of being one of the safest cities in the world. Already, some foreign governments, such as those of Japan and the Republic of Korea, have issued travel warnings to their citizens and there has been a significant drop in the number of tourist arrivals recently. Local consumer sentiment has also turned sour with growing worries about jobs. As a result, a double-digit decline in both tourist arrivals and retail sales has been forecast for the month of July by government officials.