HONG KONG rioters attacked China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency on Saturday, burning the lobby of its offices in what was condemned as a “barbaric act.”

The mob forced their way into the Asia-Pacific office building in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood in the late afternoon, smashing up the entrance before setting fire to it.

“The practice of the black rioters once again shows that ‘stopping the violence and restoring order’ is Hong Kong’s most important and urgent task at present,” a Xinhua spokesman said.

Protesters have frequently attacked shops and businesses deemed to be pro-Beijing and have beaten up people they believe have expressed support for China’s sovereignty over the autonomous region.

Saturday’s attack was condemned by the Hong Kong Journalists Association, which described it as an “act of sabotage against the media” and called for an end to violence against the press.

Unrest has continued in Hong Kong for the past five months, initially in opposition to a proposed extradition Bill that would have allowed suspects to be deported to stand trial in countries where they are alleged to have committed serious crimes.

But the plan was scrapped by Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam as she sought to restore order.

Despite the levels of violence, mainstream media outlets and some left organisations continue to portray the protesters as “peaceful pro-democracy” activists, putting them in the same category as the popular movements in Lebanon and Chile.

But a feature of the protests has been the demand for US intervention and pressure for a regressive anti-communist agenda, backed by neoliberal regime-change organisations such as the shady National Endowment for Democracy.

Yesterday riot police used tear gas as protesters vandalised a shopping mall. During the clashes it is alleged that district councillor Andrew Chiu had part of his ear bitten off.