5. WHAT CONSEQUENCES HAVE BEEN INCURRED?

Weeks of upheaval has undermined the social order and an already weak economy, with Hong Kong's retail, restaurants and tourism already hit hard.

The disorder has frayed Hong Kong residents' nerves and made lives difficult. Many small and medium-sized enterprises said they have suffered a 30-percent drop in earnings and pay cuts for employees in recent months, according to a survey.

The number of travelers to Hong Kong also dropped markedly. Nearly 30 countries or regions have issued travel warnings to Hong Kong.

The HKSAR government revised downward the real economic growth forecast for 2019 as a whole to 0 to 1 percent, from an earlier estimate of 2 to 3 percent.

The risk of an economic downturn in Hong Kong is significantly rising in the face of internal and external difficulties, said Paul Chan, HKSAR government financial secretary.

Investor confidence has been dampened, and companies have postponed plans of initial public offerings in Hong Kong.

On Aug. 15, the HKSAR government rolled out a package of measures to support enterprises and relieve people's financial burden, which will cost about 19.1 billion HK dollars (about $2.4 billion).

"The Hong Kong economy is facing the risk of a downturn. We can see this from the data in the first half," said Lam, adding that the data in the first half has not fully reflected the severity of the problem.