HONG KONG — Anyone who thought that the antigovernment demonstrations rocking Hong Kong this summer were just the doing of radicalized youngsters should think again. On Monday, the first general strike in the city in about 50 years brought the territory to a near-halt. The protesters making front page news are supported by Hong Kongers from all walks of life, whether or not they, too, take to the streets.

Hong Kong’s labor laws allow strikes only against one’s employer, not for general political causes. Yet the Confederation of Hong Kong Trade Unions announced that more than 350,000 people participated, calling in sick or taking the day off. Mass transportation, normally efficient and reliable, became an unnavigable morass of cancellations and delays — a rarity even during the worst typhoons. Buses and underground trains came to a complete stop at various times during the day.

People jammed traffic by driving in circles at roundabouts, extra slowly; others propped train doors open with umbrellas. Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s main airline, canceled most of its short-haul flights, in particular in and out of mainland China.

Some of those who took part in the strike rarely express political beliefs openly: workers at Disneyland and air traffic controllers, bankers and educators, even civil servants, who by law are required to remain neutral politically. The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has a government-granted monopoly on gambling, stopped taking bets early and allowed employees to skip work. Some of the city’s glitziest malls kept their front doors open even though most of their luxury shops were shut, to allow protesters to seek respite from tear gas or charge their phones.