Dozens of protesters on Monday hacked through the thick glass of Hong Kong’s legislative building, damaging and defacing the chambers. Masked protesters spray-painted anti-government graffiti on walls and broke computers.
They left just after midnight, as riot police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of people from nearby roads. Anger over the incident threatened to further divide the city’s massive and largely peaceful protest movement
Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam condemned the “extreme use of violence” of protesters who stormed into a local government building on Monday, destroying pictures and daubing walls with graffiti in a direct challenge to China.
Lam, under fire for her handling of a controversial extradition bill, said “nothing is more important than the rule of law in Hong Kong” and said she hoped “society will return to normal as soon as possible”.
The Chinese government has issued a strong condemnation of protesters who stormed and vandalised Hong Kong’s legislature, calling the act “zero tolerance”, as the UK warned China of serious consequences if it breached an agreement guaranteeing freedoms in the city.
>Juthy Saha
