This is what some protesters have been doing today, July 1, on the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China from Britain in 1997. After a ceremony marking the anniversary, a group of protesters have stormed the Legislative Council’s building. Though they have damaged property, they are not seeking to harm anyone.

Such actions are a way to make noise and gain attention. And if they prompt the police to respond with unnecessary force, as happened on June 12, then the public will feel disapproval and disgust for the authorities. The protesters should thoughtfully escalate nonviolence, maybe even resort to mild force, to push the government to the edge. That was the goal of many people who surrounded and barricaded police headquarters for hours on June 21.

It is tricky to implement the Marginal Violence Theory. It’s difficult to calibrate it just right: If the police get violent, we, the protesters, win over a million people — as happened between the marches on June 9 and June 16 — but if the protesters get violent, we lose a million. And some protesters remain committed to using nothing but absolutely peaceful means.

That’s why I am not in favor of, for example, throwing bricks at police officers. And on the night of the 21st, I didn’t want anyone to try to break into the police’s headquarters.

I didn’t throw any eggs or tomatoes either. But I had nothing against the fact that other protesters did. That wasn’t violence; it was a symbol and a provocation, a test.

One difficulty we face is that the authorities have wised up, it seems, since June 12, and now understand our approach. At police headquarters on June 21, a journalist next to me wondered out loud why half a dozen officers had been posted at the top of an escalator outside the building, in front of, rather than behind, a metal curtain, leaving them exposed to the humiliation of being pelted by eggs and tomatoes. I think that was deliberate: The police wanted the media to relay to the public images of a force that was not only restrained, but also looked vulnerable, even under attack. The authorities, too, are playing to public opinion.

During protests earlier today, police responded with pepper spray and, in some cases, by beating protesters with batons. But later in the day, they even retreated. They might believe that images of protesters breaking glass will play to the government’s advantage.