Chairs thrown and portraits of lawmakers torn down with police nowhere to be seen

Hundreds of protesters have broken into Hong Kong’s legislature, spraying graffiti on the walls and raising the former colonial flag, which includes the British union jack.

For hours the protesters had been repeatedly striking reinforced glass walls with a metal trolley and poles as hundreds of others watched on. Once inside they threw chairsand tore down and defaced portraits of past lawmakers.

Police who earlier in the day had been standing guard armed with pepper spray and guns marked “less lethal” were nowhere to be seen.

The direct action unfolded after a peaceful march of half a million people made its way through other parts of the city on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China. For the past month protesters have been demanding the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Graffiti on a wall at the government headquarters after protesters broke in. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/AFP/Getty Images

Before the protesters broke in to the legislative building, at one point about half a dozen pro-democracy and independent lawmakers came between the demonstrators and police and called for calm.

They pushed against the trolley, acting as human shields between it and the building. They were roughly handled by dozens of young protesters, some of whom punched and pulled their arms. They were shouted down and the protesters continued pounding the glass.

“They simply wouldn’t listen to me,” said Lam Cheuk-ting, one of the lawmakers. “The movement at large is peaceful, but some young people are overwhelmed by a strong sense of helplessness and they’re emotionally charged.”

Play Video 0:56 Protesters try to smash their way into Hong Kong government HQ – video report

The police had called on the march organisers to consider rescheduling or shortening it, but it left just before 3pm when tens of thousands began snaking their way through the city.

The organisers, the umbrella group the Civil Human Rights Front, did change the end point of the march. Marchers who carried on beyond the approved march route could potentially be charged with illegal assembly under Hong Kong law.

Police issued a statement earlier saying they “absolutely” respected people’s right to “assembly, procession and expression of opinion in a peaceful and orderly manner”, but that there was “a serious safety threat” in the Admiralty and Wan Chai areas of the city. They advised the public to carefully consider whether they should join the public procession.

China reiterated its stance against what it called “foreign interference” in Hong Kong. Speaking in Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the UK’s rights and obligations under the joint declaration on the 1997 handover of Hong Kong had ended.

“Britain has no so-called responsibility for Hong Kong. Hong Kong matters are purely an internal affair for China. No foreign country has a right to interfere,” Geng told a daily news briefing.

“Recently Britain has continuously gesticulated about Hong Kong, flagrantly interfering. We are extremely dissatisfied with this and resolutely opposed.”

Quick guide What are the Hong Kong protests about? Show Hide Why are people protesting? The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections.

Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. Lam announced on 4 September that she was withdrawing the bill. Why were people so angry about the extradition bill? Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. How have the authorities responded? Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong

Earlier in the day, the chief executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, attempted to calm the mood, as an official ceremony took place at a convention centre in Wan Chai to mark the 22nd anniversary of the handover.

In her speech, Lam referred to the protests, saying they had made her realise “the need to grasp public sentiments accurately”. She said: “I am also fully aware that while we have good intentions, we still need to be open and accommodating.”

The rallies are the latest manifestation of growing fears that China is stamping down on the city’s freedoms and culture with the help of the finance hub’s pro-Beijing leaders.

Although returned to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong is still administered separately under an arrangement known as “one country, two systems”. The city enjoys rights and liberties unseen on the autocratic mainland, but many residents fear Beijing is already reneging on that deal.

Quick guide Democracy under fire in Hong Kong since 1997 Show Hide Hong Kong’s democratic struggles since 1997 1 July 1997: Hong Kong, previously a British colony, is returned to China under the framework of “one country, two systems”. The “Basic Law” constitution guarantees to protect, for the next 50 years, the democratic institutions that make Hong Kong distinct from Communist-ruled mainland China. 2003: Hong Kong’s leaders introduce legislation that would forbid acts of treason and subversion against the Chinese government. The bill resembles laws used to charge dissidents on the mainland. An estimated half a million people turn out to protest against the bill. As a result of the backlash, further action on the proposal is halted. 2007: The Basic Law stated that the ultimate aim was for Hong Kong’s voters to achieve a complete democracy, but China decides in 2007 that universal suffrage in elections for the chief executive cannot be implemented until 2017. Some lawmakers are chosen by business and trade groups, while others are elected by vote. In a bid to accelerate a decision on universal suffrage, five lawmakers resign. But this act is followed by the adoption of the Beijing-backed electoral changes, which expand the chief executive’s selection committee and add more seats for lawmakers elected by direct vote. The legislation divides Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, as some support the reforms while others say they will only delay full democracy while reinforcing a structure that favors Beijing. 2014: The Chinese government introduces a bill allowing Hong Kong residents to vote for their leader in 2017, but with one major caveat: the candidates must be approved by Beijing. Pro-democracy lawmakers are incensed by the bill, which they call an example of “fake universal suffrage” and “fake democracy”. The move triggers a massive protest as crowds occupy some of Hong Kong’s most crowded districts for 70 days. In June 2015, Hong Kong legislators formally reject the bill, and electoral reform stalls. The current chief executive, Carrie Lam, widely seen as the Chinese Communist party’s favoured candidate, is hand-picked in 2017 by a 1,200-person committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites. 2019: Lam pushes amendments to extradition laws that would allow people to be sent to mainland China to face charges. The proposed legislation triggers a huge protest, with organisers putting the turnout at 1 million, and a standoff that forces the legislature to postpone debate on the bills. After weeks of protest, often meeting with violent reprisals from the Hong Kong police, Lam announced that she would withdraw the bill. Photograph: Dale de la Rey/AFP

While the recent protests were initially sparked by Lam’s attempts to pass the proposed extradition legislation, the demonstrations have morphed into a wider movement against her administration and Beijing.