VANCOUVER—Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators crowded into Hong Kong’s main terminal Monday, forcing one of the world’s busiest airports to cancel all flights.

The shutdown came as China’s central government in Beijing ominously characterized the ongoing protests as something approaching “terrorism,” raising fears of a sterner state response.

The impact of the airport demonstration was felt around the globe, especially in the West Coast city so closely linked to Hong Kong it is sometimes called “Hongcouver.”

Cathay Pacific, Air Canada and Hong Kong Airlines run as many as eight daily flights between Hong Kong and Vancouver — the same number that go between Vancouver and New York.

That illustrates the close economic and cultural ties the two communities have, said Henry Yu, a history professor at the University of British Columbia who returned from a trip to Hong Kong in June.

“The (flights) allowed for migration and a constant back-and-forth circular travel that connected the two places and where individual family members could even commute on a weekly level,” Yu said.

An estimated 300,000 Canadian citizens live in Hong Kong, and 200,000 immigrants from Hong Kong live in Canada, according to the 2016 census.

Hong Kong International Airport said in a statement Monday that flights would resume at 6 a.m. Tuesday local time.

The ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong have drawn more than a million people at times. The protest movement’s demands include the resignation of the Chinese territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, democratic elections for her successor, the release of those arrested in earlier protests and an investigation into police use of force.

Julius Yan, who runs Vancouver-based Laurus Travel Asia Tours, expressed concern over the protests.

“These young people in Hong Kong — they have no idea what they’re doing, how much they’re hurting the business environment in Hong Kong,” said Yan.

The Vancouver-based company offers tours throughout China that often end in the port city of Hong Kong. It’s not only a common destination; it is also a popular stopover for people travelling in and out of Asia.

Yan said he anticipates travellers could soon avoid Hong Kong altogether because of the unrest.

“Nowadays, I guarantee you, a lot of people who are booking their air travel to Southeast Asia thinking that they might have a stopover in Hong Kong, they will change their mind with what’s going on.”

New comments from Beijing have cast a darker shadow over the demonstrations.

The cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office issued a statement saying the situation in Hong Kong was “beginning to show the sprouts of terrorism” and constituted an “existential threat” to the population.

“One must take resolute action toward this violent criminality, showing no leniency or mercy,” said the statement, attributed to spokesman Yang Guang. “Hong Kong has reached an inflection point where all those who are concerned about Hong Kong’s future must say ‘no’ to law breakers and ‘no’ to those engaged in violence.”

The mainland Chinese government tends toward a broad definition of terrorism, including in it nonviolent protests of government policies on the environment or in minority regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet. Such a designation adds to the regime’s descriptions of protesters as clowns, criminals and traitors intent on overthrowing Chinese rule in Hong Kong.

Ottawa issued a travel advisory last week, advising Canadians to exercise a “high degree of caution” when travelling to Hong Kong in the wake of mass demonstrations that can “often become violent.”

For Vancouver resident Rajiv Kozhikode, Hong Kong is like a second home, and he is not ready to abandon it just yet.

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“I lived there for five years, never felt like an outsider,” he told Star Vancouver on Monday.

Kozhikode, a public policy professor at Simon Fraser University who studies Indian politics and entrepreneurship, frequently travels between Bangalor, India and Vancouver — and he always makes a point to stop in Hong Kong. He has a trip to Hong Kong planned for December.

“I would still go to Hong Kong because I know the people there are the most polite I’ve ever met. Unless there is a clampdown by China, I wouldn’t change that (trip.)”

No new violence was reported by Monday evening, although the city remained on edge.

A flight attendant who was using his day off to join those protesting gave only his surname, Lau, to avoid repercussions from his employer. China has reportedly threatened to bar aircrews taking part in protests.

Lau said heavy-handed police tactics had alienated some people.

“The police have told a lot of lies to Hong Kong people. We cannot believe them anymore. We have to come here to protest,” Lau said.

Another protester, who identified herself only as Bea, said she took the day off from work to express her outrage because “I feel that I have to do something ... It’s just too sad to see what has happened. The police action has gone totally nonsensical.”

The chief executive of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways said there would be “disciplinary consequences” for employees involved in “illegal protests,” as the airline joined businesses that have apologized to China in recent days over political flaps. Rupert Hogg warned in an internal memo that the company has a “zero tolerance approach to illegal activities,” apparently referring to unapproved protests.

Companies from luxury fashion brands to bubble tea shops are under pressure to distance themselves from protesters and declare their support for the ruling Communist Party’s position on Hong Kong.

Earlier Monday, Hong Kong police showed off water cannons that could be deployed, a development that Amnesty International has warned could lead to serious injuries if misused in the densely populated city.

Legislators and journalists were invited to witness the display of crowd-control tactics, which came after a weekend of protests at the airport and in one of Hong Kong’s main shopping districts.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the principle of “one country, two systems,” which promises the city certain democratic rights not afforded to people on the mainland. But in recent years, some have accused Beijing of steadily eroding their freedoms.

With files from Temur Duranni and The Associated Press

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