On July 1, what Chinese authorities hoped would be a joyous occasion to mark Hong Kong’s 22nd Establishment Day quickly turned into chaos.
550,000 protestors took part in a mostly peaceful anti-establishment march, making it the largest ever since 1997, and the most notable one in its 22 year history.
Meanwhile, outside the Legislative Council, another group of protestors dissatisfied that non-violent demonstrations appear to have won few concessions from the government decided it was time for a different strategy.
They took down the Chinese flag, replaced with a black one at half-mast, and eventually broke into the legislature, defacing what they saw as symbols of tyranny, such as the emblem of the Hong Kong SAR government, portraits of previous council presidents as well as the Basic Law.
VICE News takes a look at all the key events that happened that day.
