(Reuters)
July 1, 2019 12:45
HONG KONG - Hong Kong protesters stormed the legislature on the anniversary of the city's 1997 return to Chinese rule on Monday in a direct challenge to Beijing, amid widespread anger over laws that would allow extraditions to China.
A small group of mostly students wearing hard hats and masks used a metal trolley, poles and pieces of scaffolding to charge again and again at the compound's reinforced glass doors, which finally gave.
Some protesters broke into the building, threatening to paralyze the workings of government, but it was unclear how many were still inside. The council, the mini-parliament in the former British colony, issued a red alert, ordering the protesters to leave immediately.
It did not say what would happen if they didn't.
Protesters frantically shouted for and passed on helmets, cling film, masks and other utilities. Periodic shouts of "helmets!", "gloves!" rang out as the crowd tried to get supplies to the front lines.
Riot police in helmets and carrying batons fired pepper spray as the standoff continued into the sweltering heat of the evening. Some demonstrators removed steel bars that were reinforcing parts of the council building.
Banners hanging over flyovers at the protest site read: "Free Hong Kong."
The protesters, some with cling film wrapped around their arms to protect their skin in the event of tear gas, once again paralyzed parts of the Asian financial hub as they occupied roads after blocking them off with metal barriers.
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