Students in Hong Kong—Undeterred by Tear Gas—Stand Strong for Democracy

Aimee Herd : Sep 29, 2014
AP, Fox News

"The students are protecting the right to vote, for Hong Kong's future. We are not scared, we are not frightened, we just fight for it."

(Hong Kong)—Democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong were numbered in the thousands on Monday, as they continued protesting against last month's decision by the Chinese government that Beijing's first-ever election will only offer candidates who've been "hand-picked" by a pro-Communist Party committee. (Photo via Fox News)

The demonstrations—which began a week ago—have been made up mostly of students, but now other citizens are joining in. Senior fellow at University of Nottingham's China Policy Institute, Steve Tsang, noted, "People are feeling a kind of guilt that they were allowing the young kids in their late teens and early 20s to take all the risks, so people are coming out to support them. That's what we are seeing on the ground."

One 55-year-old civil service employee, Carol Chan reportedly said, "The students are protecting the right to vote, for Hong Kong's future. We are not scared, we are not frightened, we just fight for it."

As authorities attempted to quell the protests over the weekend with tear gas, it only served to add fuel to the fire. Police backed off some on Monday, employing manned barricades, but "otherwise not intervening," according to the AP report.