Editor's note: Azhar Azam works in a private organization as a market and business analyst and writes about geopolitical issues and regional conflicts. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On August 17, as many as 476,000 people rushed to the streets of Hong Kong with the Chinese national flags to denounce violence and to support peace in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the principle of "One Country, Two Systems."

The massive "Oppose Violence, Save Hong Kong" rally that took place near Hong Kong Legislative Council complex was hardly seen in the Western media as it didn't gratify their objectives and lacked the "spices" - they needed to defame China. For these distractors, the things were juicy when the demonstrators had choked the autonomous region with their subversive acts of storming into and wrecking the government buildings, marring walls with graffiti, and hoisting flags of foreign countries.

But the pro-peace rally's call to return Hong Kong back to normalcy, tranquility, and stability stayed mute to them. The hawkish elements of the international media were looking forward to tensions and conflict escalating in the territory.

The sensible Hong Kong residents have a different take. They believe that Hong Kong is their very own region and China is their very own country. They realize that if the situation degrades further, it could damage the society and the livelihoods of many people in Hong Kong.

Peace-supporters envisions "One Country, Two Systems" as key sustenance to Hong Kong's economic growth that has pushed its trade to GDP ratio from 233 percent in 1997 to 376 percent in 2018. And it enabled the Chinese mainland to become Hong Kong's largest trading partner, and drove the Chinese mainland as the largest domestic export market of Hong Kong, accounting for more than 44 percent of its total domestic exports.

The Chinese mainland is Hong Kong's second-largest source of inward direct investment as well. At the end of 2017, investment from the Chinese mainland accounted for about 25.5 percent or about 497 billion dollars of the total stock of the region's inward direct investment. As a total of 197 Chinese mainland companies had their regional headquarters and another 255 companies had set up their regional offices in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland has played a decisive role in providing job opportunities and improving the well-being of Hong Kong residents.

Nevertheless, the defiance of the protesters could negatively impact the region's status as one of the most important and leading global financial hubs. The acts of infidelity such as waiving foreign flags and defiling national emblems could elicit chaos and instability.

China should be given credit for showing great restraint on these acts. While the radical protestors are testing China's forbearance, the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned "The situation in Hong Kong has been deteriorating, with the interference of outside powers" and that the dissenters have challenged the fundamental principle of "One Country, Two Systems."

The radical protestors should pay heed to Wang's alert that "any responsible government and any society rules by law would not sit by and tolerate this" and must not play into the hands of foreign interveners. Residents of Hong Kong need to understand the sensitivity of the issue. The sole objective of foreign countries' meddling is to hurt China, and the well-being and security of the people in Hong Kong sit nowhere on their agendas.

From the Middle East to Africa, foreign countries' intervention has only brought casualty, suffering, economic breakdown, and devastation. Their call for democracy and freedom has only exposed local inhabitants to life-threatening situations and risks of economic survival.

Now, the U.S. and Britain led alliance are trying to create a new front against China by covertly intervening and propping up protests in Hong Kong. Their shared goal is to spike unrest in HKSAR. Hong Kong residents should be aware and alerted about the unsavory credentials of the foreign interferers before it is too late and the circumstances push them to a point of no return.

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