The 2019 Yuen Long attack, also known as the 721 incident, refers to a mob attack that occurred in Yuen Long, a town in the New Territories of Hong Kong, on the evening of 21 July 2019. It took place in the context of the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. A mob dressed in white stormed the MTR's Yuen Long station and attacked protesters returning from a demonstration in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island as well as bystanders.
Despite over 24,000 calls to the 999 emergency hotline, the police arrived 39 minutes after the attacks and one minute after the mobs had left the station. Around 30 non-police tactical unit trained police officers were assigned to standby at Tuen Mun Police Station for contingency. At least 45 people were injured in the incident.
The government condemned the violence. There was widespread criticism of the police for its poor response to the incident and disputed narrative of the events. As of September 2022, eight assailants have been convicted. Attacked passengers and protestors were later charged with riot as well, with at least one found guilty. As of April 2025, 21 people have been convicted for rioting over the attack, 13 of whom belonged to the white-clad group and the remaining eight being other people at the scene; seven of the latter have appealed their convictions and sentences.
Protests against the controversial extradition bill had been going on since March 2019. Most of the demonstrations in the days were turned into clashes. On the one hand, government supporters who favoured the extradition bill praised police as defenders of law and order. On the other hand, there is also the increase of reports alleging that the police have adopted violent strategies against the protesters.
On 11 July 2019, Lei Gai-ji, head of the New Territories section of Beijing's liaison office, mobilised villages of Yuen Long to evict protestors during the inauguration ceremony of Shap Pat Heung. He offered only a smile after the attack when asked if he incited so.
Patriotic villagers shall never let rioters foment trouble in Yuen Long… must evict them if they come.
Four days later Junius Ho of the Legislative Council issued similar warning to protestors over the possible protest in Yuen Long. In a response nearly a year after the attack, Ho said he was only "boasting" sentimentally.
… Now they [protestors] are calling for troubles in Yuen Long. Yuen Long shall welcome them. What would happen then? We would greet them. The more they come, the quicker you [Yuen Long villages] should act, and wipe them out.
On the evening of 16 July, it was reported that some local protestors had held a public screening of video clips on the alleged police brutality in public order events at the Fung Yau Street North Sitting-out Area. Towards the end of the screening, several people dressed in white confronted the group in black. Local councillor claimed some of those in white shirt were triad members.
Soon after, there were online posts calling for people to "Liberate Yuen Long" (光復元朗) and to take part in a public meeting to be held on 21 July at Yuen Long. The identity of who first spread the information was disputed. A self-claimed police wife was said to have first posted the poster on Chinese Weibo which was then shared by government supporters. Pro-China media, on the other hand, cited police sources saying the image was published in a Telegram public group an hour earlier than the police wife. Nevertheless, the majority in the popular LIHKG forum backed the protest by Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) in Hong Kong Island, instead of protesting in Yuen Long.
The controversial report by Independent Police Complaints Council concluded that there were online posts "calling for people to 'Liberate Yuen Long' and to take part in a public meeting to be held in Yuen Long on 21 July in protest against those disrupting the screening on 16 July; and in response online posts urged Yuen Long residents to "protect their homeland and to expel protesters with warnings of potential violence targeted at protesters".
During the "safeguard Hong Kong" rally of the pro-China camp condemning violence during protests and showing support for police, Arthur Shek Kang-chuen, co-founder of Hong Kong Economic Times, called for action against violent protesters, likening it to disciplining children.
You should say no to those masked, black-shirted men. They have weapons, umbrellas. We can't use sticks. Do you have a cane at home? Get one, get a longer one. What if you don’t have one at home? Go to a metalware shop, buy a 20mm [diameter] water pipe, and teach your son a lesson.
A Yuen Long indigenous resident who also joined the rally vowed "there will be a good play in Yuen Long on 21 July."
According to BBC and RFA, the night before 21 July Yuen Long residents were warned by relatives of police against wearing black shirts on the day, and were told that around 500 triad members, wearing white with red bracelet, will gather at night in Yuen Long targeting black-shirted men, after Yuen Long villages decided to launch an attack.
On Sunday 21 July, the CHRF organised a protest from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, with black being the dress code again. Police risk assessment of the procession was relatively high. Around 138,000 people participated in the procession organised by CHRF.
Like most other processions since 1 July, it started peacefully but erupted into violent clashes between protesters and the Police outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in Western District from around 18:30. Many protestors, however, did not stop at the designated end point at Luard Road in Wan Chai, and continued to walk in the direction of Sheung Wan arriving at the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong close to 7:00 pm. Protestors then proceeded to block roads, set objects on fire, throw eggs and black ink at the building and defaced the National Emblem on the building. The rally devolved into a violent clash between the protestors and the police. According to the police, the police force was mainly focused on the public procession on Hong Kong Island, while Yuen Long was manned on a "skeleton" basis.
In the afternoon, assailants wearing white shirts and armed with sticks and wooden poles gathered in Yuen Long, while a pro-government Facebook page shared a photo of them saying "the villages are ready" and about to "discipline" the protestors. Yuen Long District Councillor reported to police over the possible confrontation, police in response claimed officers were deployed.