Protesters hold banners that read "Protect peace of society and dignity of law enforcement officials" in front of the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

The Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) opened to the press for the first time on Wednesday after it was seriously damaged by violent protesters on Monday. 

The shocking aftermath of the illegal activities has angered the public and different groups of the city, who urged the police to firmly enforce the law and arrest violent protesters responsible for the illegal assault on the LegCo, and they should be severely punished in accordance with law. 

Entering the LegCo Wednesday afternoon as part of the first group of journalists, the Global Times reporters saw terrible and massive damage around and inside the LegCo complex. 

The walls, tables, windows and elevators have been painted with radical and dirty language against the HKSAR government, legislators and the police; network cables inside the wall have been pulled out and cut; cameras for the closed circuit television system have been destroyed; and computers in the offices have been smashed. 

Many computer servers have been damaged as well, and the staff who guided the reporters said this behavior would not have been done by normal citizens or students, but well-trained people familiar with the structure of the complex. 

Legislators and employees could not return to the building and some of them had to meet elsewhere. Many files have been stolen. "I have no idea how long it will take to resume work here. The police have completed gathering evidence, and we'll need a full-scale evaluation of the damage," an anonymous LegCo employee told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In the main hall of LegCo, the violent protesters not only smashed computers and painted dirty words on tables, chambers and platforms, but also left food, snacks and drinks on the tables. 

The private cabinets of legislators, dress rooms and lounges for staff and a souvenir store were ruined as well, and the keyboard in the control room was covered with an unknown liquid which smells like urine.

On Wednesday afternoon, officers of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, Police Tactical Unit and Identification Bureau continued to gather evidence at the LegCo. A police officer put bricks that protestors used Monday night on the ground and took pictures, and then brought them to police cars.

Photo taken on Wednesday shows government documents and files scattered on the floor at a LegCo office after radical protesters stormed the legislative building on Monday. Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT

The city gets angry

Hong Kong society was outraged by the mob-like behavior of protesters who stormed LegCo, which has become a crime scene since Monday night, urging authorities to bring the culprits to justice as soon as possible.

The Hong Kong police condemned the violent attack, the Hong Kong Police Force said Tuesday, and the police will bring the culprits to justice. 

Representatives from political, business, regional and legal sectors strongly condemned the violent behavior, saying that such mob behavior has cross the legal and moral lines. 

"Hong Kong society has sufficient channels for peaceful and rational communication, and the public can't use violence to express their views," the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said in a statement. 

Hung Kam-in, a member of the Kwun Tong District Council in Hong Kong, said "We strongly urge the HKSAR government and the police to investigate the case seriously and arrest the suspects. They should be determined and strict on law enforcement."

Jerry Chan, 34, a local resident who opposes the extradition bill, also disagrees with the violent activities in the LegCo and feels disappointed. He said "the violent behavior was definitely illegal, and that's why we are worried because this will make us (the people who oppose the extradition bill) less and less convincing."

Shameful memory

The 22nd anniversary of HKSAR's return to China will go down in history as the day Hong Kong lost the rule of law, lawyer Ronny Tong Ka-wah said. "We feel ashamed. What do those who always claim to have our values, freedoms and rule of law at heart think?" he asked.

Local authorities and several legislators urged that radical protesters be punished. 

"Considering the way they conducted themselves, which was very professional and well organized, they must have been trained by foreign forces," Michael Tien, a legislative councilor, told the Global Times on Wednesday.  "This group of protesters is burying Hong Kong, and they have to be severely punished," he said. 

On Monday night, protesters rushed into the main meeting hall of LegCo and raised the colonial flag on the podium, spraying graffiti on the wall, which was live-streamed. Protesters, wearing black t-shirts and yellow helmets, raised a black bauhinia flag outside the legislature to replace China's flag, which seriously violates the law. 

Hong Kong society can only move forward on the basis of "one country, two systems," and the principle of "one country" always go first before "two systems." If the violent behavior continues, this fundamental will be hurt very badly, Tien noted.  

Ridiculous excuse 

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt urged authorities in Hong Kong not to use protests as a pretext for repression, BBC reported on Tuesday. He said he understands the root causes of what happened as people in Hong Kong are concerned that their basic freedoms are under attack.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday refuted Hunt's  comment. "If the UK parliament is surrounded, attacked and damaged, will the government turn a blind eye and do nothing?" Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the ministry, told a press briefing on Wednesday. 

"If that is the democracy described by Hunt, does he think police should be withdrawn to allow protesters to storm the UK parliament?" Geng said.

Some Western media claimed that Hong Kong police set a trap, and that the young protesters fell for it, as police could have earlier dispersed the protesters but had "purposely allowed them to break into the building and vandalize it," according to the BBC. 

Tian Feilong, a Hong Kong expert and associate professor at Beihang University, told the Global Times on Wednesday "it is nonsense for foreign media and the opposition groups to defend illegal violent activities using such illusion and the conspiracy theory."

The police withdrew from the LegCo on Monday night to avoid conflict since there were too many radical protesters, Tian said. "The real reason could be the police would rather let the LegCo be damaged than have a violent confrontation with radical protesters."

An anonymous witness of the incident that night told the Global Times on Wednesday that there were not enough policemen to safeguard the LegCo since there were too many violent protesters, and police reinforcements were unable to enter the venue, so the police probably decided to withdraw to avoid unnecessary casualties from both sides.

Tian said that even there was no police to stop them, they cannot justify storming the LegCo. So, people and foreign media outlets who try to blame the police or find an excuse to defend the protesters have no common sense and basic understanding of the rule of law.