The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has condemned acts advocating so-called "Hong Kong independence" and the desecration of the Chinese national flag. Some protesters on Sunday chanted an "independence" slogan, while others removed a nearby national flag and threw it on the ground. Some rioters attacked police officers who intervened at the scene. A government spokesman stressed that the national flag is the symbol of the country, and anyone who desecrates it is liable for a fine or imprisonment.