Dhaka, Aug. 14 -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has condemned any form of violence or destruction of property in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and called for restraint by both parties.

She urged the demonstrators to express their views in a peaceful way, noting that the Chief Executive had committed to "engage as widely as possible" and to "listen to the grievances of the people of Hong Kong", her spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

The protests began with a proposed bill that would have enabled China to extradite individuals from Hong Kong to be tried on the mainland. Although the extradition bill was suspended in mid-June, the protesters want it officially withd...