Leah Millis

Five Demands, Not One Less

Protests began in Hong Kong in spring of 2019 in response to a proposed bill that would have allowed the Hong Kong government to consider extradition requests of suspected criminals from outside countries, including mainland China. The protests drew hundreds of thousands of people for over six months and was at times violent. An especially fraught weekend happened at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University in mid-November where police and protesters clashed with tear gas, thousands of molotov cocktails, various homemade weapons and a threat from the local police to use live ammunition. The "battle" ended with hundreds of protesters trapped on the campus as police blocked all of the exits for nearly two weeks. 

The protests have become a movement with five demands of the Hong Kong government: withdrawal of the extradition bill, an inquiry into police brutality, for the leader Carrie Lam to step down, for those arrested to be released, and greater democratic freedoms. 

  • Protesters sing Glory to Hong Kong and hold up their hands to signify the {quote}five demands{quote} outside of Polytechnic University (PolyU) while police keep it under siege in Hong Kong, China, November 25, 2019.
  • A riot police officer points his weapon during a Human Rights Day march, organized by the Civil Human Right Front, in Hong Kong, China December 8, 2019.
  • Shattered glass is seen at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), in Hong Kong, China November 22, 2019. The wrecked campus went from a battle ground to a ghost town with rumors of handfuls of protesters hidden throughout the vast space. Surrendering to police came with a charge of {quote}rioting{quote} which can come with up to 10 years in prison. Many protesters were arrested in the first few hectic days, others escaped via increasingly dramatic ways, including through the sewer system.
  • A protester who calls himself {quote}Riot Chef{quote}, and who said he was a volunteer cook for protesters, sits in a nearly empty canteen in Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) as police continue to lay siege to the campus in Hong Kong, China November 23, 2019.
  • A volunteer medic searches for anti-government protesters as fears rise about the mental health of the remaining protesters who are in deep hiding at the premises of Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Hong Kong, China, November 23, 2019. The volunteers are hoping to negotiate with the protesters, to convince them to leave the campus and seek medical attention.
  • Members of the news media interview a remaining protester who is trapped inside of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Hong Kong, China, November 23, 2019.
  • Hundreds of unused Molotov cocktails sit abandoned inside of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) as the campus continues to be closed by police in Hong Kong, China, November 27, 2019.
  • A protester throws a Molotov cocktail at an MTR station in Hung Hom after a day of protests in Hong Kong, China December 1, 2019.
  • Anti-government protesters hold hands to form a human chain at Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong, China, November 30, 2019. Picture taken November 30, 2019.
  • People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stand in formation next to Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Hong Kong, China November 23, 2019. The barracks where the PLA soldiers are housed, where they train and stay fit is located across the street from the University. There was a constant fear that the mainland Chinese government might send in military, risking reliving something like the Tiananmen Square massacre.
  • Hundreds of thousands of protesters fills the streets during a Human Rights Day march, organized by the Civil Human Right Front nearly six months from the beginning of the larger protests in Hong Kong, China December 8, 2019.
  • Hong Kong front-line protesters Wing and Tony, both 18, pose for a portrait. The two began dating after attending many protests together and represent a generation of young people whose lives have been forever changed by these protests that turned into a movement.
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