Occupy Hong Kong’s End Start of ‘Permanent’ Political Unrest
Police fire tear gas at demonstrators during a protest near central government offices in Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014.
Photographer: Lam Yik FeiThis article is for subscribers only.
When police moved to clear barricades to end a 75-day, pro-democracy occupation of Hong Kong streets, protest leaders strung a banner across their front lines with a parting message: “It’s just the beginning.”
While the protesters failed to wrest concessions from China on their demands for open elections in 2017, students, politicians and analysts say the city is not the same. The rallies -- which saw the first use of tear gas in Hong Kong in almost a decade -- triggered an awakening across a generation of young people who are now willing to risk recrimination by publicly calling for political change.