China Lashes Out At Hong Kong Protest Targeting Its Office

HONG KONG (AP) – China has harshly criticized a demonstration in which eggs were thrown at its office in Hong Kong and messages spray-painted on the exterior walls.  The official People’s Daily newspaper said Monday in a front-page commentary that the protesters’ actions were “intolerable.”  The article headlined “Central Authority Cannot be Challenged” expanded on a strong condemnation issued the previous night by the government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office.  One group of protesters targeted China’s liaison office in Hong Kong on Sunday night after more than 100,000 people marched through the city to demand democracy and an investigation into the use of force by police to disperse crowds at earlier protests.  Demonstrators fear an erosion of rights and freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.