Hong Kong police clear protesters occupying legislature after day of unprecedented violence and chaos
- Unparalleled assault on Legislative Council ends without bloodshed
- City’s leader Carrie Lam to hold press conference at 4am along with her No 2, Matthew Cheung, the security minister and police chief
A government in retreat, protesters out in force on the streets and violent clashes between police and radical activists who stormed the legislature and took over the chamber for the first time in history – Hong Kong was a city under siege on Monday as it marked the 22nd anniversary of its return to Chinese rule.
The day was marred by an assault on the Legislative Council building in Admiralty, unprecedented in size and intensity, as hundreds of protesters demanding the complete withdrawal of the government’s now-suspended extradition bill attacked the glass front with makeshift battering rams.
Police stood by inside the building throughout the day, fully equipped with riot gear, while the crowd went on the rampage outside, and were nowhere to be seen when the protesters finally forced their way inside at night and vandalised the chamber.
It was after midnight when hundreds of riot police left their headquarters in Wan Chai to swoop into action and converge upon the legislature from multiple directions.
By that time, the last of the diehard protesters remaining in the chamber had left the building to join hundreds waiting outside in the public demonstration area, from where they regrouped on Harcourt Road, Tim Mei Avenue and Lung Wui Road around the complex.
Police advanced, clearing roadblocks and responding with tear gas as retreating protesters threw bricks, eggs and umbrellas at them.