Hong Kong: Clean-up under way as Beijing says takeover ‘completely intolerable‘

Clean-up efforts were under way in Hong Kong on Tuesday after a night of protests in which the city’s Legislative Council chamber was stormed and vandalised. Footage shows damaged windows, debris being loaded into a truck and police officers outside the building.

The Chinese government issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the incident and calling it ‘completely intolerable’. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said ‘violence and lawlessness have seriously affected the core values of Hong Kong’s legal system.’

Early on Tuesday, Hong Kong police evicted demonstrators who had spent hours inside the Legislative Council in a protest marking the anniversary of the city’s handover from the UK to China. The rally followed recent protests against amendments to the extradition law that would allow sending Hong Kong residents to the mainland China for trials.