Hong Kong's rule of law experienced one of its darkest days on Monday as hundreds of masked radical and violent protesters besieged and stormed the Legislative Council building. They smashed the building's glass exteriors with metal carts and rods, tore down the metal fencing, and pried open steel shutters, completely ignoring the police's repeatedly calls to retreat.

At around 9 pm, the protesters stormed into the complex and occupied it for almost three hours.

Vandalism was in full swing during this period. Pictures of LegCo presidents were torn down and thrown on the floor. Walls and tables inside the Chamber Room were sprayed with black oil paint. A protester even climbed on a ladder prepared in advance and sprayed the Special Administrative Region's emblem in the chamber black.

Facilities, including cameras on the roof and projector screens, were broken. Swear words were sprayed on various facilities. In some rooms of the building, documents stored inside were thrown everywhere on the floor.

Violent protesters waving metal poles smash glass walls of the Legislative Council Complex and enter the building through broken doors. photos by China Daily

(HK Edition 07/02/2019 page6)