‘Outpouring of righteous anger’: Hong Kong protesters storm legislature and tear down Chinese flags

Defiant Carrie Lam condemns ‘heartbreaking’ violence

Police cleared protesters from Hong Kong‘s legislative council building after hundreds stormed inside on Monday night, following a day of tense demonstrations marking the 22nd anniversary of the city’s handover from the UK to China.

Crowds spent hours battering their way into the legislature, which earlier this month had been scheduled to debate a controversial bill that would allow for criminal extradition to China.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has suspended the bill but has failed to withdraw it permanently despite weeks of protests asking for it to be permanently shelved.

Anger and frustration at her government, and her failure to step down, appeared to have boiled over as thousands swarmed into the legislative building, spray-painting walls and security cameras as they pushed into the main chamber.

Protesters hung a black banner in the chamber with the words “No rioters, only tyranny. Only rule by tyranny”, a reference to many protesters’s often stated belief that Beijing is an “authoritarian regime”.

They also took down China’s red flag and replaced it with a black flag featuring the Bauhinia flower, a variation of Hong Kong’s national flag. Other groups could also be seen waving British colonial flags.

“Despite the building being deserted by the police, protesters were going out of their way to deface every surface with graffiti, and smash every remaining panel of glass,” said one participant, who asked not to be named but live-streamed the protest under the Twitter handle @HongKongHermit.

“It was an outpouring of anger, but righteous anger, and they took pleasure in their work.”

Earlier the government issued a red alert for the legislative complex, with all staff evacuated from inside the building. Hong Kong’s police force ”severely condemned the violent attack” and warned that it would use appropriate force to disperse the crowds.

Officers in full riot gear clashed with protesters shortly after midnight. Police used several canisters of tear gas and pepper spray as demonstrators fled.

A protester defaces the Hong Kong emblem after protesters broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong (AFP/Getty Images)

The legislative building has since been cleared.

Carrie Lam condemned the violence at a press conference held in the early hours of Tuesday.

“This is something we should seriously condemn,” the defiant leader said. “Nothing is more important than the rule of law in Hong Kong.”

Standing outside Hong Kong’s police headquarters, Ms Lam claimed police officers had shown restraint when dealing with the latest wave of protests.

Ms Lam described Monday’s events “heartbreaking and shocking” and said she hoped society would “return to normal as soon as possible,”

But public sentiment is against the embattled leader.

“I think the most important thing is the government didn’t respond to any of our requirements,” said a protester who asked to be identified only by his surname Chan.

“They just keep delaying the law. We also have [seen] a lot of violence from the police so this is why the [protesters] are very angry.”

Half a million families, young children and the elderly marched down major roadways in a more peaceful demonstration organised by the Civil Human Rights Front, the group said late Monday.

From early morning until well past dark, thousands more occupied major roadways near the government complex as young protesters attempted to stop a flag raising ceremony before they were forcefully pushed back by riot police.

Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and Tory leadership hopeful, said that while violence was not acceptable, Hong Kong “Must preserve right to peaceful protest exercised within the law.”

While their tactics varied, demonstrators are concerned at what the bill would mean for the future of Hong Kong and the city’s unique freedoms and civil rights that make it unique from mainland China.

Protesters have said they mistrust the mainland’s legal system, where many have watched political dissidents and human rights lawyers stand trial or disappear for years on end.

It’s not about more rights, it’s to sustain what we already have

Kimberly Wong, protester

“Under this particular bill you can be spirited away, deported to China where it’s all done behind closed doors and there’s no transparency,” said Kimberly Wong, who participated in the mass march.

Ms Wong said many Hong Kong residents feared they would lose their civil rights before 2047, when the 50-year period of autonomy promised to the former British colony comes to an end.

“It’s not about more rights, it’s to sustain what we already have.”

While the marches have been organised by Civil Human Rights Front, a coalition of various political groups and causes, the anti-extradition protest movement has been leaderless in contrast to 2014’s democracy protests.

Most protesters have instead relied on message boards and apps like Telegram to vote protest suggestions up and down, from small scale gatherings intended to disrupt the train system on weekdays to the kinds of mass rallies seen outside the legislature, according to protester Susan Wong.

“We have a forum … like Reddit or Twitter that people post different tactics on and if you agree with tactics you like or you comment on it, like it, and push it to the front,” Ms Wong said.

“We [decide] on what tactic we will used based on popularity of post.”

“Most of us understand it is important to have peaceful demonstrations and to have mix. We exist together to help each other,” she said.