As China’s 65th National Day broke in Hong Kong, crowds flooded the streets, amid a downpour of rain and despite calls from Chief Executive C.Y. Leung to give up their demands, which include his resignation. A flag-raising ceremony to mark the holiday went ahead as planned but a fireworks show was cancelled. On the mainland, authorities detained at least 12 people for supporting the Hong Kong protests, according to rights group China Human Rights Defenders, while censorship of weibo spiked in recent days to four times its usual levels, according to Weiboscope.
Protesters gathered in three separate areas of Hong Kong: Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mongkok. The New York Times has produced a graphic showing the areas of protest:
RT @nytgraphics: Diagrams showing extent of protests in Hong Kong so far.
http://t.co/NlHEZ2lLte pic.twitter.com/UJZ8igZYCY
— China Digital Times (@CDTimes) October 1, 2014
And footage from a drone, posted by The Guardian, shows the scope of the crowds, which were growing as the day went on.
Steady stream of ppl arriving at the Admiralty protest site #Occupycentral many returned home during rain last night pic.twitter.com/XP53A5hKW6
— Tom Grundy (@tomgrundy) October 1, 2014
Reminder: Follow @SCMP_News on Instagram for iconic and moving #OccupyCentral pics. 香港人加油 http://t.co/kLQzvjKDEb pic.twitter.com/ELvg8BRnyJ
— Jeremy Blum (@blummer102) October 1, 2014
#伞花革命 #UmbrellaFlowers RT@ka1aok: (19:40) #UmbrellaRevolution in Hong Kong pic.twitter.com/r4SQilK76Y
— Hu Jia 胡佳 (@hu_jia) October 1, 2014
Wednesday afternoon holiday stroll down harcourt rd all ages coming out to have a look #hongkongprotests pic.twitter.com/wUxoT0K746
— Sarah Corp (@C4NForeign) October 1, 2014
Many on Twitter are calling the Hong Kong residents “the politest protesters in the world,” as they pick up their garbage and share umbrellas with police officers. Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy of the New York Times call the protests, “a diligently clean, exceedingly polite and scrupulously peaceful insurgency”:
Here is a movement without a clear leader, one in which crowds of largely young people are organizing themselves and acting on their own, overtaking months of planning by veterans of the city’s pro-democracy camp. The spontaneous, grass-roots nature of the protest is one of its strengths — it has adapted quickly and seized the momentum from the government — but it may also make it difficult for the movement to accept any compromise that the Chinese government might be willing to offer.
The mass sit-in — and for hardier participants, sleep-in — in several of Hong Kong’s key commercial districts has presented the Chinese leadership with one of its biggest and most unexpected challenges in years. The protesters are demanding the right to elect the city’s leader, or chief executive, without procedural hurdles that would ensure that only Beijing’s favored candidates get on the ballot.
China’s state-run news outlets have depicted the protests as the handiwork of a conspiracy aided by the West to topple the Communist Party. But what leaders in Beijing and Hong Kong face is something even more alien to party thinking: an amorphous movement that does not answer to any particular individual or agenda. [Source]
Emily Rauhala from Time reports from Admiralty:
The crowd is mostly but not entirely young, and represents many parts city’s social fabric. High school students in crisp white uniforms deliberate homework on the ground. Local business owners donate food. When a group representing the city’s ethnic minorities arrived at government offices, the crowd roared. “We Are Hong Kong, We Stand United,” their sign read.
Volunteers ferry basic necessities to the front and set up support stations. “Do you need a mask?” they ask. “We have biscuits!” People arrive with plastic shopping bags full of granola bars. There are reserves of toilet paper and bandages. Just before 3 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 30, a polite young man offers water. I decline. “We have sparkling too!” he grins. [Source]
Hong Kong democracy protesters are offering their umbrellas to rain-soaked police http://t.co/uc6izAV5cy pic.twitter.com/i9h6vO2GQx
— Lily Kuo (@lilkuo) October 1, 2014
"It’s probably the most peaceful, polite, organized protest ever." – British expat who joined #OccupyCentral in Hong Kong | via @ryan_chua
— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) October 1, 2014
#OccupyCentral activists helped truck driver load trash to keep Tamar demonstration tidy pic.twitter.com/rEO02dSaH0
— Keith Bradsher (@KeithBradsher) October 1, 2014
My personal favourite so far. pic.twitter.com/CoLyqlig9q
— Nathan VanderKlippe (@nvanderklippe) October 1, 2014
Have you ever seen a tidier protest movement? #HongKong #UmbrellaRevolution pic.twitter.com/3DYHHF6Joh
— Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) October 1, 2014
What's interesting about this photo? You're not supposed to walk on the lawn, so protesters don't ! pic.twitter.com/V9uyeSf51P
— Jennifer O'Mahony (@jaomahony) September 30, 2014
Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters get tear gassed, but still pick up their own trash. http://t.co/mke0Kij31X pic.twitter.com/JWNcTfiRCK
— Troy McCullough (@TroyWSJ) September 29, 2014
Only in Hong Kong – doing homework while protesting #OccupyCentral pic.twitter.com/aLONywxwk9
— Jacky Wong (@jackycwong) September 30, 2014
#全球支援 #民主 #遍地開花 #佔領中環 #香港 #HK101 #DemocracyBlooms #CivilDisobedience #OccupyCentral #HongKong @hu_jia @OCLPHK @aiww pic.twitter.com/EY8rzk9oy8
— P H Yang Photography (@TravelFoto) October 1, 2014
'It's not enough just to sit there': Teacher Deledda Ma & husband help rally by cleaning trash
http://t.co/POH6RWvntV pic.twitter.com/M6nqBJ76Fz
— SCMP News (@SCMP_News) October 1, 2014
Major shopping areas were closed due to the protests, on what is usually one of the biggest shopping days of the year due to an influx of mainland tourists visiting the territory during Golden Week. But even some Chinese visitors seemed impressed by the comportment of the protesters. From Reuters:
“It’s the first time (in my life) that I’ve seen this kind of movement,” said Li, who was in Hong Kong to shop.
“The actual scene is quite well organized and very disciplined. Not the kind of chaos we would have expected.” [Source]
But some Chinese students in Hong Kong have reported mixed feelings about the protests and have been hesitant to participate, according to the Wall Street Journal and others.
Small group surrounded by curious onlookers. #OccupyHK protesters say they are in TST to spread message to tourists. pic.twitter.com/ieBlxeEs6K
— Joanna Chiu (@joannachiu) October 1, 2014
Mainland Chinese tourists passing by TST #OccupyHK protest curious but mostly unsupportive, believe HK people are complaining too much
— Joanna Chiu (@joannachiu) October 1, 2014
More scenes from the streets:
The umbrella revolution #HongKong pic.twitter.com/M84tPvzY23
— Maria Byrne (@byrnechina) September 30, 2014
Road as canvas. Connaught Rd Central, a big playground. pic.twitter.com/kSyFEQaYLP
— Varsity CUHK (@varsitycuhk) October 1, 2014
Lots of mini protesters on the streets today. They are waving and screaming at a passing #AppleDaily drone pic.twitter.com/ADo5vgW6Xl
— Anjali Tsui (@anjalitsui) October 1, 2014
Student protesters occupy a main thoroughfare in Hong Kong, early Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014. Hong K… http://t.co/ZUiblr2gGu via @YahooNews
— tassanee vejpongsa (@tassanee) October 1, 2014
Tens of thousands up all night: Massive protests light up Hong Kong skyline (PHOTOS) http://t.co/eLgn2hblxr pic.twitter.com/zxlcuoTIKt
— Ian56 (@Ian56789) October 1, 2014
A couple takes wedding photographs in front of pro-democracy protesters in #HongKong. Photo by AFP's @philippe_lopez pic.twitter.com/kzum7zum0e
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) October 1, 2014
Signs outside Legco, cops inside. #OccupyHongKong #Admiralty pic.twitter.com/fcCTD3Oj4Q
— Stuart Leavenworth (@sleavenworth) October 1, 2014
Hong Kong shows Beijing exactly what democracy can look like http://t.co/tzFtiaGyur (Xaume Olleros-AFP/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/XapyhXTFiv
— TIME.com (@TIME) October 1, 2014