China demands criminal probe

UK warns Beijing of serious consequences if Sino-British declaration not honoured

China slams comment from Trump; analysts say protesters' hard line may backfire

Hong Kong yesterday grappled with the aftermath of a night of unprecedented anti-government protests which saw parliament ransacked, as Beijing called for a criminal probe into the unparalleled challenge to its authority.

The semi-autonomous financial hub has been thrown into crisis by weeks of demonstrations over a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland, with the issue becoming a lightning rod for resentment towards Beijing.

On Monday -- the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover to China -- anger spilt over as groups of mostly young, hardline protesters, breached the legislative council.

They hung the city's colonial-era flag in the debating chamber, scrawled messages such as "Hong Kong is not China" on walls, and defaced the city's seal with spray-paint.

Police charged into the building shortly after midnight to retake control.

The events pose an unprecedented challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and yesterday, Beijing wasted no time in asking Hong Kong to investigate the "criminal responsibility of violent offenders" for "serious illegal actions".

It also slammed Donald Trump for interfering in the city's affairs, after the US president said that protesters are "looking for democracy" but "some governments don't want democracy" -- an apparent swipe at Beijing.

Hong Kong has been rocked by massive protests over the past three weeks. The rallies -- including a huge pro-democracy march on Monday -- have been largely peaceful while calling on the city's Beijing-appointed chief executive Carrie Lam to resign.

But they have failed to win concessions, with Lam refusing to permanently shelve the extradition law or step down, and by Monday some hardline protesters appeared to have reached breaking point, and stormed the legislature.

The legislature was closed yesterday, as police collected evidence from the debris-strewn building, while workers swept surrounding areas littered with shattered glass, broken umbrellas and hard hats.

Under the terms of the 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule, Hong Kong enjoys rights and liberties unseen on the mainland. But protesters accuse Beijing of reneging on that deal with the help of unelected leaders.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned China of "serious consequences" if it breaches that bilateral handover agreement, but did not offer any details.

Chinese state media have dismissed the protests as "mob violence". "A zero-tolerance policy is the only remedy for such destructive behaviour", the Global Times daily wrote in an editorial.

"[The violence] is an undisguised challenge to the bottom line of 'one country, two systems', Xinhua news agency quoted a Hong Kong affairs office spokesman as saying.

Analysts said the chaotic scenes showing demonstrators tearing down portraits and spraying graffiti signalled a dangerous turn.

"The gestures were meant to provoke the Chinese authorities", said political analyst Joseph Cheng.

"They are gestures of defiance rather than a genuine political action," he said, warning they would likely "be seized upon by Beijing and by the Carrie Lam administration as justification for a crackdown".