Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed support of the recent wave of pro-China demonstrators clashing with Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters in Australia.

Key points: Beijing supports pro-China protesters' "patriotism" at Hong Kong rallies

Beijing supports pro-China protesters' "patriotism" at Hong Kong rallies It reiterated comments that it has capabilities to "quickly subdue" unrest

It reiterated comments that it has capabilities to "quickly subdue" unrest Twitter says 200,000 suspended accounts were part of a Chinese Government influence campaign

The statement came amid reports that Twitter and Facebook have dismantled more than 200,000 accounts they believe were part of a Chinese Government influence campaign trying to undermine the protests in Hong Kong.

"We also hope overseas Chinese can express their patriotism in a rational way and protect themselves from harm," spokesman Geng Shuang said. ( ABC News: Supplied )

"It is totally understandable and reasonable for Chinese students and other Chinese citizens overseas to express indignation and opposition against such words and deeds that attempt to separate China and smear its image," foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

"We also hope overseas Chinese can express their patriotism in a rational way and protect themselves from harm.

"The Chinese Government asks overseas Chinese to observe local laws and regulations. In the meantime, we hope relevant countries can understand and respect their legal activities and protect their lawful rights and interests."

Over the last few weeks, hundreds of thousands of pro-China protesters have shown up at tense pro-Hong Kong rallies around the world, from Manila to New York, Toronto and Paris.

About 600 people from rival groups took part in a heated rally outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne on Friday, but tensions boiled over and several scuffles broke out, forcing police to separate the protesters.

Police officers were forced to separate clashing pro-China and pro-Hong Kong groups in Melbourne on Friday. ( ABC News: Kristian Silva )

On the same weekend in Adelaide, up to 80 pro-Hong Kong protesters congregated at the University of South Australia's city campus but were soon surrounded by more than 100 pro-Chinese demonstrators, many of them hurling derogatory and sexist insults such as "traitor" and "f***ing coward" at the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.

A flood of more than 1,000 pro-Beijing activists peacefully marched through Sydney on Saturday, chanting "one China, no separation".

More than 1,000 pro-Beijing supporters peacefully marched through Sydney's CBD on Saturday. ( ABC News: Sarah Hawke )

Mr Geng's comments come after the nation's ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, warned foreigners not to support the pro-democracy protesters on Saturday, denouncing the Hong Kong protesters' actions as "radical, violent and illegal".

"Their behaviours have grossly trampled on the rule of law and social order in Hong Kong, seriously threatened the local residents' life and safety, severely jeopardised Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," he said.

He added that the unfolding situation was "solely the internal affairs of China" and warned foreign governments, including Australia's, to not support Hong Kong's protesters or interfere.

"Any attempt to mess up Hong Kong is doomed to fail."

After Canada and the European Union issues a joint statement in defence of the 'fundamental right of assembly' in Hong Kong, China's embassy in Ottawa lashed out at Canada, warning it to "immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs," according to the South China Morning Post.

'Accounts linked to state-backed operations': Twitter

Meanwhile, Twitter and Facebook said they had dismantled more than 200,000 accounts they believed were part of a Chinese Government influence campaign trying to undermine the protests in Hong Kong.

Loading

Twitter said it suspended 936 accounts and the operations appeared to be a coordinated state-backed effort originating in China.

"Specifically, we identified large clusters of accounts behaving in a coordinated manner to amplify messages related to the Hong Kong protests," the statement said.

It added these accounts were just the most active portions of this campaign and that a "larger, spammy network" of approximately 200,000 accounts had been proactively suspended before they were substantially active.

Facebook said it had removed accounts and pages from a small network after a tip from Twitter and that its investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese Government.

'Hong Kong affairs are purely China's domestic affairs'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 2 minutes 44 seconds 2 m 44 s Hong Kong's citizens set to reclaim their peaceful 'People's Movement' for democracy and independence

The Hong Kong protests, which have presented one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012, began in June as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts, but have since swelled into wider calls for democracy and against police brutality.

Following weeks of increasingly violent demonstrations in the Asian financial hub and multiple closures of its international airport, up to 1.7 million anti-government protesters of all ages rallied peacefully in Hong Kong in torrential rain in one of the biggest protests the movement has seen since the initial June 16 march.

When Mr Geng was asked whether China would resort to violence to quell protests, he replied that "Hong Kong affairs are purely China's domestic affairs".

One of the 200,000 accounts that Twitter suspects are part of a Chinese Government influence campaign trying to undermine Hong Kong protests. ( Twitter )

He also referred to statements made in an August 7 seminar held in Shenzhen, when Zhang Xiaoming, the director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said China would not sit by if the situation deteriorated.

Mr Zhang said China had sufficient capabilities to quickly subdue possible unrest.

Members of China's paramilitary People's Armed Police forces have been seen training across the border in Shenzhen, including on Sunday morning, fuelling speculation they could be sent in to suppress the protests.

The Hong Kong police, however, have said they are capable of handling the situation.

In a press conference this morning, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said she would be setting up a "communication platform" to resolve differences in the city as well as a fact-finding study to look into the causes of the protests and the police response to them.

But the chief executive's comments fell short of the protesters' demands, including for her resignation and an independent inquiry into what they describe as police brutality.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 30 seconds 30 s Protester lashes out at ABC cameraman after kicking speaker onto him

ABC/wires