Black-clad rioters set fire on a street in Sai Wan Ho in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua)

The meddling of external forces in Hong Kong's affairs will surely face countermeasures from China and eventually backfire, as their interests were also tied to one of Asia's financial hubs, observers said while criticizing foreign forces' constant agitation of the city's five-month unrest.

Foreign investment and institutes have been active in Hong Kong as the city enjoys a dynamic economy and culture. But some external forces are adding fuel and using the unrest to contain China's development, a move that will surely affect their own interests, experts said. 

The observers' remarks were made after US senators Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio, a senior member of the panel, began a process on Thursday for the US Senate to quickly pass the "Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act" by unanimous voice vote.

The legislation would require the Secretary of State to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong still retains enough autonomy to warrant the special US trade consideration that bolsters its status as a world financial center.

On Thursday, an annual report was published by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which called for legislation in the US to suspend Hong Kong's special status if China "deploys People's Liberation Army or People's Armed Police forces to engage in armed intervention in Hong Kong."

China will adopt more pragmatic measures to counter US interference in Hong Kong's affairs, such as measures to contain US companies' and institutes' interests in the city, and make laws to prevent relevant US officials' activities in Hong Kong, said Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan at Nankai University. 

Tang Fei, a member of the Council of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, suggested the Hong Kong government should immediately bring justice to those behind the riots, including foreign sponsors and social media leaders, instead of just dispersing the rioters. Otherwise, street riots would become normal.

Experts predicted that no matter how hard the US is trying, its actions will exert little influence on Hong Kong's development, which relies largely on the people of Hong Kong, who are tired of the months-long violence and desire for peace. 

Authorities also condemned recent US interference. Geng Shuang, spokeperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it has no interest in responding to the USCC report, since the report is not based on facts and the institute is full of prejudice against China.

Geng also said some UK politicians should be blamed for confusing right from wrong on Hong Kong's affairs, adding fuel to Hong Kong's violence and supporting rioters, which led to the attack on Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah by rioters in London on Thursday. 

Geng warned that if the UK continued its wrongdoing and supports Hong Kong's violence, it will backfire and hurt itself.

Foreign legislatures should not interfere in any way in the internal affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the Hong Kong government will continue to implement the "one country, two systems" principle resolutely, the Hong Kong government said on Thursday. 

The foreign forces' interference is more obvious than the "Occupy Central" period, said Tang, noting that Western countries have issued more than 60 statements to oppose the since-withdrawn extradition bill, which is unprecedented. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a clear stance of the Chinese government on Hong Kong's situation at the 11th BRICS summit in Brasilia, capital of Brazil on Thursday. 

Xi said the Chinese government has unswerving determination to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests, implement the "one country, two systems" policy and oppose any external force interfering in Hong Kong's affairs.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong on Friday Photo: Jia Lin

Violent death

Hong Kong was again engulfed by consecutive days of violence, which paralyzed the city's public transportation, vandalized shops and infrastructure, and led universities to suspend classes. 

An outsourced senior worker of the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, being hit in the head by hard objects hurled by masked rioters during previous protest, died on Thursday. The suspect remains at large.  

After the man's death, Hong Kong police changed the charge from intentional injury to murder, and will resort to every measure to bring the culprit to justice, Senior Superintendent Chan Tin-chu of New Territories North Regional Crime Headquarters, said at a Friday news briefing. 

The liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong also sternly condemned the frenzied attack from radicals following the death of the senior resident, saying that "black terror" has hung over the city and every resident will fall victim to violence if the unrest continues. 

Several local universities, especially Chinese University of Hong Kong, morphed into a battlefield for the rioters. 

Black-clad rioters guarding the booth - made of bamboo sticks, umbrellas and a door from a trashed car - have been searching the belongings of visitors and questioning the purpose of their visit to CUHK in Sha Tin.

Amid consecutive days of violence which involved hurling Molotov cocktails and setting fire in campus, some universities have turned into a stronghold of the rioters, which propelled the "evacuation" of mainland students. 

Six UK universities, including University of Sheffield and University of Edinburgh,reportedly pulled their exchange students out of Hong Kong over safety concerns, media reported. The University of Warwick "strongly urged" students in Hong Kong to "return to the UK as soon as possible."

Targeting Hong Kong universities is also being done by external forces to scare all talent from Hong Kong, said Li. "As a vibrant and dynamic city, and with the support from a vast market in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong is favored by talents worldwide to work and live there. With the tailspin in universities, they just wish Hong Kong's status as a talent hub will be gone," Li said. 

However, now that the rioters' violence has been frowned up by international communities, and the Hong Kong government has stepped up efforts to contain the violence, "whatever political plots foreign forces have or whether they want to sow chaos in Hong Kong, will ultimately fall apart," Li told the Global Times, adding that the central government will be firm in attitude and pragmatic in measures in handling the Hong Kong situation.