Hong Kong is shaken as protesters storm legislature

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully in Hong Kong on Monday, the anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 — the latest in a series of large protests centered on a bill that would allow extradition to mainland China.

But a much smaller group broke into the legislative building, smashed glass walls and spray-painted slogans in the inner chamber. They occupied it for hours; most had cleared out when riot police officers used tear gas to scatter the remaining crowd.

The split-screen images offered vivid evidence that the divide in Hong Kong is not just between protesters and the Beijing-allied government: The demonstrators are increasingly at odds with one another. Some veteran pro-democracy activists had implored younger ones not to break into the building.

Response: Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s embattled leader, condemned the “violence and lawlessness” at a predawn news conference. She praised the police, who she said had exercised restraint.