Hong Kong Shares Fall As Protests Continue

Hong Kong shares have fallen for more than 1 percent, following the clashes between protesters defending the city's autonomy and police, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The benchmark Hong Kong share index has declined by 1.4 percent, insurer AIA Group has dropped more than 2 percent, HSBC Holdings and Tencent Holdings Ltd have fallen nearly 1 percent, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd have declined by 2.5 percent, according to Bloomberg.

Moreover, the central bank has prepared to inject liquidity into the banking system, a number of banks have closed branches and ATMs, and Hong Kong investors have made arrangements to work outside the financial district.

Early Monday morning thousands of people gathered to demonstrate support to a student protest, led by Occupy Central with Love and Peace group that started on September 26 to oppose the plans of Chinese government to control Hong Kong 2017 leadership election. Occupy Central with Love and Peace group's activists claim that China fails to keep its promise to maintain the city's autonomy under "one country, two systems" formula.

Local police used pepper spray and tear gas in suppressing the protest. The clashes are considered to be the worst unrest since sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred to China from the United Kingdom.

"One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle, suggested by Deng Xiaoping that contributed to the reunification of China in 1980s. The principle implies that Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan retain their own economic and political systems, as well as the right to maintain external relations with third countries.(Cihan/Ria Novosti)