The Hong Kong Protests - The Beginning

“Never, 'for the sake of peace and quiet,' deny your own experience or convictions." ~Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish diplomat

Saturday - Oct 27, 2014

Police busses and vans line up in Central along the waterfront preparing for another night of protests in Central, Hong Kong. The protesters, mostly Hong Kong students who have been steadily gathering for peaceful protests thoughout the week, were now gaining in numbers, lining the normally busy streets in Central and stopping traffic in and around the government buildings.

Tonight would be the night police unleash tear gas on the protestors, turning the peaceful sit-in into a chaotic, panic-stricken race for cover as students, caught completely off guard by the uncharacteristic police violence, try to shield themselves from the clouds of noxious gas.

The use of tear gas - last used in Hong Kong in 2005 - was captured on media the world over. Police, dressed in gas masks and riot gear, swarmed the streets of Central, marking a dramatic escalation of protests in a city which rarely sees such violence - the largely contained student-led demonstrations suddenly exploded into mass angry street protests.

And just like that, the world was watching.