Those who ‘call on people to take to the streets’ have nothing to offer but ‘empty words of democracy and freedom’, Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission says in commentary published on social media.

Axar.az reports citing AniNews that Western nations ‘can’t even solve their domestic problems … it is a fantasy to ask them to help people thousands of miles away’, it says.

Hong Kong’s young people should look north for economic opportunities in mainland China instead of pinning their hopes on Western countries to solve their financial woes, China’s ruling Communist Party said in a social media article.

The commentary, by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, highlights socioeconomic factors such as the lack of affordable housing in the city as a root cause of the Hong Kong protests, signalling a shift in Beijing’s propaganda efforts in relation to the unrest.