MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – After trying to break up protests last night, the Hong Kong government said it had pulled back the riot police on Monday, the New York Times reports.
Large crowds of demonstrators remained on the streets, while the government is now urging them to end their sit-in protests, the New York Times reports.
Tens of thousands blocked roads, paralyzing parts of the city, while the police answered with the teargas and pepper spray on Sunday, Channel News Asia said.
The protests began after the government in Beijing decided to impose limits on how Hong Kong would elect their leader. Pro-democracy activists claim that Beijing fails to keep its promises on the issue of Hong Kong’s autonomy under the “one country, two systems” formula, said the Wall Street Journal.
University students, who skipped their classes and stepped on the streets, are the main driving force of the protests. “We want to protect the democracy of Hong Kong”, said a 17-year old Hong Kong resident. Another student added that there will be no democracy tomorrow, if people fail to stand up for it today, according to the Guardian.
The protests have also been named the “Umbrella Revolution”, since the demonstrators were using umbrellas, plastic wraps and masks to protect themselves from the pepper spray and tear gas that the police was using against them. The phrase “Umbrella Revolution” has become popular on social media, the AP said.
“The one country, two systems” is a principle under which Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan retain their own economic and political systems, including the right to maintain external relations with other countries. This is the worst unrest since 1997, when Hong Kong, the former British colony, was handed back to China.
