The ongoing protests in Hong Kong are hurting not only the society, but also the city's economy, warned Martin Sieff, a research fellow at the Global Policy Institute.

Speaking to CGTN, Sieff said protesters should express their demands in a peaceful and dignified way and pointed out that the most dangerous way is to protest in a violent way.

"This is exactly what the Hong Kong protesters did. Violent demonstrators are driving protests out of control and the violence may escalate."

The scholar warned that violent protests would lead to capital flight as well as soaring unemployment in Hong Kong, and damage the economy as a whole.

Earlier this week, social media platforms Facebook and Twitter said they shut down thousands of accounts, which they claimed are run by the Chinese central government to spread disinformation about the Hong Kong protests.

Calling these moves "classic American high-tech liberal hypocrisy," Sieff said the U.S. only favors freedom of speech in line with its own policies.