Videos circulating on social media show Westerners in Hong Kong complaining about the ongoing protests to much online vitriol.
Demonstrations have been ongoing since June in response to an extradition bill that was feared to signal the end of the 'one country, two systems' policy that has given Hong Kong residents certain civil rights since China resumed sovereignty over the former British colony in 1997.
In recent days Hong Kong Airport has been thronged with protesters, disrupting flights in and out of the international airport.
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One Australian man, who was angry that his flight out of Hong Kong had been delayed, was filmed arguing with a group of young protesters.
"The sooner Hong Kong becomes a part of mainland China, which it was actually designed to be, the better it's going to be," he says in the clip posted to Twitter by the Global Times, China's state-run English language newspaper.
He went on to say that his business has been affected by the conflict. The protesters engaged him in debate, asking his opinion on the fraught situation and explaining their reasons for occupying the airport.
"What you're concerned is your own personal journey, right?" one young man says. "Your flight is delayed, so you're angry or upset with that. But what we're doing here is spend our own time to stay here, do our protest so Hong Kong can have freedom."
The man interrupts him to say "Go get a job!" When the protester says they all have jobs, he replies: "Go work it."
Twitter reaction to the clip has been divided, with some voicing sympathy for the man's frustration. Others have called him a "Beijing brown-nose bogan" and an "ignorant schmuck".
"Translation: 'I'd like to do business here; now can't you pesky kids roll over and accept a dictatorship, that would be way easier for me to make money'," one user remarked. "'And then when I'm done I'll go home and enjoy my freedoms in #Australia'."
In a separate video a woman is seen crying about the protests, saying she moved away from South Africa to get away from similar unrest.
"South Africa has this, I don't want this," she says tearfully. "This is not the Hong Kong I've grown to love... to experience this, it hurts me. It really hurts me."
She goes on to say "both sides" of the conflict are at fault, and that she wishes both protesters and police would stop fighting. Chinese officials have been criticised for using excessive force against protesters - including rubber bullets and tear gas - prompting world leaders like Justin Trudeau to express concern.
Social media has roundly criticised the woman for her self-centred reaction to the protests, with some joking that she was upset because the demonstrations "ruined her brunch plans".
"Did she leave South Africa because she was tired of Africans fighting for their freedom & rights?" one Twitter user wondered.
"When someone throws a brick and knocks over your mimosa," another said.
Newshub.
