ATMs of a mainland bank in Hong Kong are damaged by rioters during the weekend. Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT

Unprecedented violence has swept across Hong Kong, with rioters targeting banks and companies from the Chinese mainland in recent days, inflicting enormous financial losses as well as endangering the lives of residents.  

Protesters have ramped up attacks as they vandalized branches of mainland banks and firms, forcing closures and putting the lives of ordinary citizens at serious risk. Government officials urged the public to support the authorities in their law enforcement efforts as the anti-mask law came into force on Saturday.

The attacks on the city's infrastructure have caused unprecedented damage. Rioters waged large-scale attacks on the city's metro system, including the cars and tracks, damaged government buildings and targeted shops, Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said in a televised speech on Saturday afternoon. Rioters also punched citizens who held different political views, and continued attacking police officers, she said. 

Rioters set fires in some branches of mainland banks, seriously threatening people's safety. 

All branches and personal banking centers of several mainland banks in Hong Kong, including ICBC (Asia) and China Construction Bank, were closed on Saturday morning after rioters damaged and vandalized their ATMs on Friday night. 

Bank of China (BOC) Hong Kong also announced that all branches will suspend operation out of safety concerns, except its headquarters in Hong Kong. An industry insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Global Times that some bank employees are taking leave to escape the violence. 

Chinese banks earlier condemned violent illegal acts that hurt the financial sector, which is key to the city's growth. BOC is "extremely furious" and condemned the illegal behaviors, the bank said in a statement on its website. 

"Rule of law is the core value and the cornerstone of Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. Safeguarding the rule of law and maintaining financial safety and stability weights in Hong Kong's overall development. It also concerned the interests of Hongkongers and companies," BOC said, urging society to firmly oppose violence, restore order and build Hong Kong's future together.  

"The city continues to sink," a financial industry representative who asked for anonymity, told the Global Times, noting that it has to stop the violence by whatever means, as violence is leading Hong Kong into an abyss. 

Other Chinese firms which are headquartered in the Chinese mainland also saw retail outlets being stormed by rioters. According to online photos, rioters smashed handset-maker Xiaomi's largest retail store in Mong Kok on Friday night, destroying fixtures and stock. 

One of Chinese carrier China Mobile's branches in Hong Kong was also broken into on Friday night, with showcase windows smashed and electronic products looted, media reports said. 

Former Hong Kong chief executive CY Leung harshly criticized the rioters on Friday after a night when rioters had run roughshod over the city and caused the entire city's MTR train system to be shut down. In a post on his Facebook page, Leung wrote that Hong Kong had not experienced such destruction since World War II.  

"No other city in the world was raped by its own residents like last night in Hong Kong," he said. 

Lam also noted during her televised address that some opposition groups had criticized that the government enacted the anti-mask law by bypassing the Legislative Council, which has no basis in fact.  

"The government takes it into effect in accordance to the law and acted in an appropriate way," she said. Hong Kong High Court has rejected an appeal against the anti-mask law, which shows the court agrees the law is aimed at ending the violence, the chief executive said.