Did the crackdown during the July 21 march on Parliament end up backfiring?

If you mean Hong Kong’s July 21, 2019 protest, largely yes—but the backlash grew out of more than the police response to the march itself. The march was aimed at the central government’s Liaison Office, rather than Parliament, and police used tear gas as protesters gathered near the building.

That evening, a group of men in white attacked people at Yuen Long station. The attacks, and the police response to them, became a separate flashpoint. Many residents felt authorities had failed to protect the public, and suspicions about the attackers’ links to organized groups deepened distrust.

Together, the police response and the Yuen Long violence strengthened the protest movement’s claims that the government was not listening and that public safety was at risk. They helped keep demonstrations going and made demands for accountability more prominent. But “backfired” needs a qualification: the events did not produce an immediate policy reversal, and the march alone did not cause the months of unrest that followed.

Police used tear gas and batons to break up a crowd of thousands trying to march on Parliament, but by the next day supporters were saying they weren't going anywhere misguided youths by opposition and corrupt leaders. Footage of the clashes spread fast online and seemed to stir up even more public anger rather than scaring people off. Youth were misled and tried to hurt police officers.