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The smashed windows of the Hong Kong legislative assembly are the only physical legacy of Monday's protests, but they are a powerful symbol of the political crisis facing this state and the anger felt towards those in power.

Hong Kong had never seen anything like it, and today its people were able to walk down and have a look for themselves.

"Return the government to the citizens" is spray-painted on an outside wall, while posters of past police violence are stuck to railings.

The lights are on but no one's home - parliament suspended for two weeks while clean-up work is carried out.

Yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of the handover - when Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and became a special administrative region of China, and it focused minds and anger alike.

In terms of violence, it will either prove to be a one-off, or the start of much more to come.

But it is worth looking beyond the violence that captured the headlines.

Hong Kong protest leader defends 'teammates' over invasion of government building

Calm descended on the city hours after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who had stormed the legislature

I've covered protests all over the world, and while the violence is always dramatic, it's also always a minority thing.

Yesterday - though less extensively covered - two million people marched peacefully through Hong Kong.

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That's two million out of a population of about seven million.

When more than a quarter of the population come out on to the streets, on a public holiday, you've got a problem.

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China - widely suspected to be pulling the strings behind the scenes - is in a tricky situation.

It cannot afford images of dissent and brazen opposition to leak on to the mainland and encourage dissidents there.

Nor can it come across as too heavy-handed in its desperation to get back on top of the situation.

Telling Britain publicly to back off - twice - only serves to highlight how nervous Beijing is.

We might not see the sort of scenes we witnessed yesterday again, but there will almost certainly be further demonstrations because Hong Kong's political crisis is surely deepening.