China official says Hong Kong is at a 'critical juncture'

Hong Kong is at a critical juncture after two months of anti-government street protests and violence there must stop, China's Hong Kong and Macau affairs office said on Monday. Increasingly restive protests have plunged Hong Kong into its most serious political crisis in decades, posing a challenge to the central government in Beijing.

Yang Guang, a spokesman for the office in Beijing, delivered a televised address in which he backed police handling of the protests and said that those who care about the city should come out against violence.