Hong Kong pro-government lawmaker, Priscilla Leung, was rejected by a taxi driver after she hopped onto his vehicle to try and evade a group of angry protesters.

The incident happened on Wednesday, July 3.

Best news photo of the year?

The photo, which went viral on the Internet for its spot-on representation of crowd sentiments, was even hailed as the best news photo of the year.

Ppl are calling this the best news photo of the year. After condemning protesters for their violence, pro-government legislator Priscilla Leung tried getting on a taxi to evade protesters and reporters, and was rejected by the driver. #antiELAB pic.twitter.com/zy3zmkpAvn

— Rachel Cheung (@rachel_cheung1) July 3, 2019

In a widely shared video on Facebook, Leung, referring to the driver, could be heard saying, "He got scared off by you guys" after she got out of the taxi.

This was the moment:

Online reactions delighted

Several online commenters expressed their glee at seeing Leung get turned away by the taxi driver, saying justice was served.

"Leung was defeated and had to flee. She tried to hop on a taxi, but the driver refused to take her." Taxi driver, I love you.

This clip is healing me.

This makes people feel good. Awesome.

What happened that day

Leung is a vocal supporter of the highly unpopular extradition bill, which has been declared "dead" by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on July 9.

Prior to being rejected from the taxi, she gave a press conference at the Legislative Council (LegCo) together with other pro-Beijing representatives in the legal sector, including Maria Tam Wai-chu, Cheng Huan and Chan Man Ki.

They had signed a petition together to denounce the violence displayed by the more radical faction of the anti-extradition bill protesters.

After leaving the building, that was when she ran into a group of protesters, who shouted questions at her while following her closely.

In the midst of it all, she had a heated exchange with a protester.

After saying "We are Chinese" in English, she asked the protester if he is a "Chinese citizen".

While the latter could be heard saying in English that he is an "ethnic Chinese", another male voice could be heard shouting in Cantonese in the background that he is a "Hongkonger".

Leung then walked away while saying repeatedly in Cantonese that she is a "Chinese".

She tried to return to Citic Tower, but as protesters continued to follow her, she ended up going back to the LegCo building, which was closed off to the public at that time after protesters broke into the building on July 1.

Top image via Headline Daily