Hong Kong protests draw angry response from China, calls for arrest of "criminals"
Hong Kong -- Crews were out in Hong Kong on Tuesday, cleaning up after a poignant anniversary spiraled into chaos and violence. CBS News correspondent Ramy Inocencio reported that the Chinese enclave woke up a more divided city than ever.
Demonstrators stormed Hong Kong's main government office building on Monday, many of them arguing that that Chinese central government is taking away the unique freedoms they enjoy as a semi-autonomous territory.
Hundreds of angry young protesters broke into the Hong Kong Legislative Council building and spray painted anti-government slogans on the walls and defaced the city's official symbol. It came on the 22-year anniversary of the day on which Beijing retook control of the city from British colonial rule.
They occupied the legislative chamber for almost three hours, demanding to be heard by a government they don't trust, and that they say doesn't listen to them.
While the protesters have been condemned by many for the chaos, Inocencio said many others are blaming Beijing and China's ruling Communist Party.
The protesters have been demanding for weeks the complete withdrawal of proposed legislation that could let Beijing extradite anyone from Hong Kong into mainland China's opaque justice system. They also want the city's top leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, to resign.
After midnight, riot police swept into the area around the legislature, firing several rounds of tear gas and clashing with protesters. About 50 people were injured.
In a pre-dawn news conference, Lam condemned the violence and called for a return to normalcy in Hong Kong.
But for many, the chaos on Monday was the culmination of years of mounting anger, and their concerns have still not been answered.
"I think this is a wakeup call both for Carrie Lam and the central government," Hong Kong Legislative Council Member Michael Tien told CBS News. "They need to understand that behind that is something much more fundamental, much more of a higher order."
The Communist Party in Beijing said Tuesday that it stands behind the government in Hong Kong, and it called for the "criminals" behind the previous day's unrest to be prosecuted.
There were no immediate reports of arrests.