THE DAY began with an official celebration of the return of Hong Kong to China on July 1st. It ended in the ransacking of a government building and tear gas. The televised chaos, including scenes of protesters violently smashing their way into and trashing the Legislative Council building, where some displayed the British and colonial-era flags, represent the latest test for Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, and for Xi Jinping, her ultimate boss in Beijing.

A wave of massive protests in recent weeks has left them searching for how best to respond to the demands of citizens of Hong Kong, who fear that their freedoms are being whittled away under Chinese rule. Opposition has been galvanised, in particular, by a bill that would make it possible for people accused of crimes in mainland China to be sent there to face trial.

On June 15th Ms Lam had tried to appease protesters by postponing consideration of the bill. But protesters have called for it to be withdrawn entirely. Many have also called on Ms Lam to resign. In response Hong Kong leaders have tried thus far a mixture of patience, contrition and hard-nosed police tactics.

The day started with a new note of contrition from Ms Lam. The ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the handover was held at Hong Kong’s exhibition centre, where dignitaries watched a broadcast of the raising of the Chinese flag. In her remarks Ms Lam departed from the usual convention of opining on the progress of the city under Chinese rule, promising instead that her government would listen to the demands of the people and be more open. Meanwhile, on the streets outside, protesters were facing off with police. The contrast was stark. Television stations were using split screens to juxtapose the pomp of the ceremony with the running street battles outside.

At around 2pm thousands of protesters left Victoria Park as part of a police-sanctioned march through the city. This was the third huge peaceful march to take place in under a month. Whereas the others had ended at Tamar Park, home to Hong Kong’s central government offices and Legislative Council (which is known as Legco), this time organisers asked the crowds to continue westward past the government buildings. Most obeyed. But several thousand protesters, most of them younger, veered right to help form a swelling crowd around Legco.

Many wore masks to protect themselves from tear gas (and facial recognition technology). Some donned goggles to guard against pepper spray and helmets to protect from truncheons. Human supply chains passed along umbrellas, rolls of cling-film, cable-ties, pairs of scissors and bottles of water to the front line. Protesters uprooted metal fences from surrounding streets and dragged heavy bollards and bins to barricade the streets. Like all of the protests which have shaken the city in the past month, there was no obvious leader. Communications were shouted or conveyed by hand signals.

After being criticised for using excessive force, including rubber bullets, on protesters on June 12th, Hong Kong’s police force had become more passive. By the early evening protesters had smashed large glass doors and gained access to an atrium at Legco. Metal gates inside might have stopped them there, but within hours protestors had breached that defence as well. They swiftly made their way to the council chamber, a circular room where the city’s 70 lawmakers convene. Some smashed fittings and sprayed anti-government and pro-democracy graffiti on the walls while others read out their demands, which included universal suffrage for Hong Kong. Many regard the Hong Kong government as a puppet of central-government leaders in Beijing.

In this leaderless movement, decisions are made collectively on the hoof, or by emotional fiat of the moment. Apple Daily, a newspaper, reported that one man inside the chamber was offering protesters the choice of whether to stay or leave. Police said that they would arrest anyone who had gone inside the building. Shortly after midnight police in riot gear cleared the streets near Legco with tear gas. Protesters withdrew from the chamber before police pushed their way in.

Some commentators were incredulous that security services had allowed Legco to be stormed in the first place. But others mused that the violence and chaos played into the hands of the authorities.The protesters’ display of Hong Kong’s old colonial flag in the chamber was a symbolic rebuke of the handover 22 years ago. That sort of provocation could help the government and pro-Beijing media cast protesters in a negative light.

On July 2nd Ms Lam held a 4am press conference in which she took a more defiant stance than in her handover speech, condemning the storming of Legco and declaring that authorities would “pursue any illegal acts” by protesters. But she also said she was willing to listen to the concerns voiced in the protests. Organisers say that more than 500,000 people participated in the protest march on July 1st. However authorities respond to the ransacking of Legco by several hundred protesters, they still must contend with millions of others in Hong Kong who have taken to the streets in recent weeks to register their dismay with the direction of their city under Chinese rule.

See also:

What is China’s “one country, two systems” policy? (June 30th 2019)

Xi Jinping sees protests in Hong Kong as a threat to the party (June 29th 2019)