On the evening of July 1 - The 23rd Anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, protesters defiantly took to the streets to voice their discontent against the new national security laws in which they fear excessive persecution and major human rights crackdowns

Large groups of demonstrators gathered around Times Square, one of the biggest and most luxurious shopping malls in the city to voice their discontent with current government rule.

In response, Special Tactical Anti-Terrorist police officers were deployed to seal-off the shopping mall, prompting protesters to chant anti-police/anti-government slogans, hurling water bottles at police - In response, officers retaliated by firing rounds of advanced crowd control weapons including pepperball rifles, conducting stop-and-search operations and cordoning off areas.