HK turns into a ghost town in fear of violence

All branches of the Bank of China Hong Kong was closed Saturday except the Bank of China Tower, its headquarters, after radicals set fires at several BOC branches and destroyed facilities there on Friday night.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered and China Construction Bank also closed some or all of their branches Saturday.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a statement condemning the vandalism and violence.

Recent incidents of vandalism and arson sprees have seriously affected the use of banking services by the public, the government body that maintains monetary and banking stability said.

"We hope that social order will be restored soon, allowing banks to resume normal operations and serve businesses and members of the public," the statement said.

Also on Saturday, many public activities were canceled, and shops and shopping malls were shut over safety concerns.

The 2020 Hong Kong Formula E-Prix has been canceled amid continuing street protests in the city. The round originally scheduled for Hong Kong will be replaced by Marrakesh, Morocco, according to the organizer.

Apart from MTR services, many public facilities, shopping malls and chain stores were also shut on Saturday.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced the closing of its facilities and suspended its services after 1pm to ensure the safety of venue users.

The Customs and Excise Department announced that due to public activities, the written examination (Part II) of Customs Inspector Recruitment scheduled on Saturday will be postponed.

Supermarket chain Parknshop shut all stores across Hong Kong on Saturday due to safety and logistics concerns. Health care and beauty care chain store Watsons also closed all shops, except the airport branch, for the day.

Supermarket chain Wellcome and convenience stores 7-Eleven said shops would be closed at 5 pm.

Hong Kong Disneyland delayed its opening time to 1 pm.

The city's largest labor union on Friday night issued a statement to condemn the rioters' vandalistic behaviors after its several facilities were severely sabotaged.

In a rough tally, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said its facilities in To Kwa Wan, Sha Tin, Tai Po and Shau Kei Wan were extensively vandalized by rioters, as well as five offices of its lawmakers and district councilors.

In condemning the mayhem, the union said the city-wide appalling acts were extreme and evil terrorism attacks to split Hong Kong apart from the nation.