Protesters stormed Hong Kong’s parliament building late Monday as the territory marked its China handover anniversary, smashing through reinforced windows and steel shutters in unprecedented scenes that plunge the city further into crisis.
The latest unrest ramps up tensions in the financial hub which has been rocked by three weeks of historic demonstrations against a hugely unpopular bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland.
Tens of thousands of democracy activists staged another peaceful march on Monday afternoon, calling for the city’s pro-Beijing leader to step down and reverse what they see as years of sliding freedoms.
But that rally was overshadowed by small groups of mainly young, masked protesters who besieged the legislature for hours, sparking renewed clashes with police after two weeks of relative calm.
JUST IN: Protesters have defaced Hong Kong’s emblem and hung out the British colonial-era flag in Hong Kong’s government headquarters.
Demonstrators have stormed the Legislative Council building in a dramatic day of unrest in the city https://t.co/JoJOS5uJm8 pic.twitter.com/5OVa5P1J7z
— CNN International (@cnni) July 1, 2019
