On

On
September 28, 2014 the people of Hong Kong witnessed an event
that would forever change the city’s social and political
landscape. After almost two years of planning and discussions, tens
of thousands of people gathered in the central district of
Admiralty to start what would be a two-and-a-half month peaceful
occupation of major business districts and thoroughfares in
downtown Hong Kong. The movement, initially known as ‘Occupy
Central with Love and Peace,’ was led by a Hong Kong University law
professor who was soon joined by other academics and major student
organisations from all over the city. The protest was initially
ignited by the Chinese government’s decision to pre-select nominees
for the upcoming election of Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017,
but later evolved into the people’s expression of general
discontent with the current Hong Kong government as well as the
increasing influence of China. Hong Kong, which was a British
colony until the city’s hand-over to the People’s Republic of China
in 1997, is now a Special Administrative Region which enjoys almost
the same standard of freedom known to people in the UK.

Just a few hours after the ‘Occupy Central’ movement officially
started in the early morning of September 28, Hong Kong police
fired 87 rounds of tear gas and used batons as well as large
amounts of pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the crowds. As a
defence, the protesters turned their umbrellas (which are a common
protection against the sun) into shields against the repeated
attacks by the police. From this point on, the ‘Occupy Central’
movement became known as the ‘Umbrella Revolution’.

Even though the protests (at least initially) sparked major
support from students, academics and coverage by the international
media, proposed talks between representatives of the protest and
Hong Kong/ Beijing have been mostly ignored or turned down by
executives of both governments. Ultimately, after two-and-a-half
months of peaceful occupation, all protest sites were cleared by
the Hong Kong police in early December, ending in hundreds of
arrests and injured people. ‘Occupy Central,’ as well as all major
affiliated organisations, announced the continuation of protests in
2015.