Hong Kong on Edge After Historic Night of Vandalism and Tear Gas
- City’s legislature ransacked after protesters invade chamber
- Violence mars handover anniversary of city’s return to China
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Hong Kong began picking up after historic protests left the legislature ransacked, the streets littered with spent tear gas canisters and the city’s Beijing-backed leader promising to push back against further unrest.
Authorities announced that the central government complex in Admiralty would reopen Wednesday, but the legislative building will require a lengthier cleanup after demonstrators pulled down portraits, spray-painted slogans and draped a Union Jack-emblazoned colonial flag across the body president’s desk. Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned the “extreme use of violence and vandalism” and defended the police’s decision to leave the Legislative Council to a small, but destructive group of protesters.