The storming of Hong Kong’s legislature: the inside story of how a plan was hatched on the fly by a small core of young protesters
- Group of about 200 took poll on options at noon on Monday, with 80 per cent voting to storm Legco
- Protesters admitted they had no concrete plan as they proceeded to break into legislature building
The storming of Hong Kong’s legislature on Monday was not a grand scheme hatched by protesters after much debate but emerged from a small group discussion and executed seemingly on the fly.
The picture of an almost spontaneous action that snowballed into shocking scenes of mayhem and violence emerged after the Post pieced together interviews with protesters and observations on the ground.
Unlike the previous actions of the anti-extradition movement, protesters had broken into an unguarded Legislative Council on Monday night without first drawing up a road map on their online platforms. Instead, a group of about 30 protesters on Harcourt Road made the decision at 11.30am on Monday to opt for more forceful measures.
A young man in a green mask was seen trying to gather other protesters, some of whom were still recovering from a clash with police earlier in Wan Chai, to vote on the trajectory of further actions.
“Now, show your hands if you agree to escalate and go radical,” he asked them.
Most of those in the group raised their hands. When asked if they wished to remain peaceful, no hands went up.