Hong Kong police fire tear gas to disperse protesters
Authorities work to oust demonstrators from Hong Kong's legislative chamber; Greg Palkot reports.
China has issued a scathing condemnation of protesters who stormed the Hong Kong’s legislature on Monday, saying the acts “trample on the rule of law” and are “totally intolerable.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned the protesters who broke through the glass and steel barriers and entered the building where they then vandalized it.
He said the Chinese government supports Hong Kong’s government and its police force in dealing with the incident in accordance with law.
“The violent attacks ... are serious illegal acts that trample on the rule of law and endanger social order. We strongly condemn it,” Geng said.
Protesters in Hong Kong pushed barriers and dumpsters into the streets early Monday morning in an apparent bid to block access to a symbolically important ceremony marking the anniversary of the return of the former British colony to China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
HONG KONG DEMONSTRATORS STORM GOVERNMENT BUILDING, POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS TO DISPERSE PROTESTERS
A group of protesters smashed a window and stormed Hong Kong's legislative building amid another round of mass demonstrations in the city, where a commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of the orderly return to Chinese rule was replaced by tumultuous scenes of civil disobedience, destruction and the deployment of tear gas.
The crowd, comprised of mostly young protesters, could be seen on video using a cargo cart and large poles as battering rams against the glass panel of the legislative building. The demonstrators then tore down part of a glass and metal wall of the government building, carrying away the long strips of metal framework.
Protesters gather outside the Legislative Council as they stage a rally in Hong Kong, Monday, July 1, 2019. (AP)
The Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, meanwhile, issued a statement through the state-run Xinhua news agency, slamming the protesters as well, the Guardian reported.
The office said it was “shocked, indignant and strongly condemned” the siege of the government building that came following the massive protests over a controversial extradition bill concerning China.
“Some extreme elements used excessive violence to storm the legislature building and carried out a series of large-scale assaults. This is shocking, heart-breaking and angering,” the statement said.
“Their violent acts are an extreme challenge to Hong Kong’s rule of law and seriously undermined Hong Kong’s peace and stability. It is totally intolerable.”
“Their violent acts are an extreme challenge to Hong Kong’s rule of law and seriously undermined Hong Kong’s peace and stability. It is totally intolerable.”
HONG KONG LEADER IGNORES PROTESTERS' DEADLINE TO PULL CONTROVERSIAL EXTRADITION BILL
Hong Kong demonstrators are opposed to a government attempt to change extradition laws that would allow suspects to be sent to China to face trial. The proposed legislation, on which debate has been suspended indefinitely, increased fears of eroding freedoms in the territory, which Britain returned to China on July 1, 1997.
Protesters want the bills formally withdrawn and Hong Kong's embattled leader, Carrie Lam, to resign. She remains so far defiant to such calls and said she will remain in the position.
The Chinese government also reiterated that no foreign nation should comment or intervene in protest actions in Hong Kong, saying the issue were solely Chinese affair and other countries “must not support any violent criminals in any form, and not send any misleading signals or take any erroneous actions.”
Protesters raise a banner reads "Beyond redemption, no retreat" in front of a defaced Hong Kong logo after break in at the Legislative Chamber to protest against the extradition bill in Hong Kong, Monday, July 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
President Trump reportedly brought up the issue of Hong Kong during his G-20 meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping last week.
“I’ve rarely seen a protest like that, it’s very sad to see,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he hoped the matter “gets solved.”
Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s foreign secretary, commented on the issue on Monday, saying authorities in Hong Kong must not use an outbreak of vandalism during protests as a “pretext for repression.”
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While condemning “violence on all sides”, he said the authorities need to “understand the root causes of what happened, which is a deep-seated concern by people in Hong Kong that their basic freedoms are under attack.”
Britain is the former colonial power in Hong Kong, which returned to China back in 1997 on the condition that the city will have autonomy under the “one country, two systems” rule.
Fox News’ Travis Fedschun and the Associated Press contributed to this report.