The legislature storming was the most violent episode in the initial stage of the huge protests that upended the financial hub that year, with Beijing later imposing a sweeping national security law to snuff out dissent.
HONG KONG, China - Twelve Hong Kongers were jailed Saturday for up to seven years over the storming of the city's legislature in 2019 at the height of pro-democracy protests that challenged the Beijing-backed government.
A total of 14 people were later charged with rioting -- which carries a punishment of up to 10 years in jail -- and other offences such as criminal damage and entering the legislative chamber. Two former reporters charged alongside the 12 were not convicted of rioting, but were fined up to HK$1,500 for"entering or staying in the Legislative Council chamber".
Protesters committed"insulting and provocative" acts such as tearing up copies of Hong Kong's constitutional text, the Basic Law, and displaying colonial-era flags, Li added.