You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser
and improve your visit to our site.
Skip Navigation

Photos: Hong Kong's Occupy Protesters Are a Lot More Creative Than America's

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

After Sunday night’s violent clashes, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations earned a new name: the Umbrella Revolution, so called because protestors are using umbrellas to shield against police pepper spray and tear gas. As the aggressive crackdown by China’s riot police brought tens of thousands of Hong Kong citizens to the streets, the umbrella became a potent symbol of resistance against Chinese repression. Protestors began painting messages on their umbrellas and using them for shelter; artists designed umbrella logos to represent the movement. Here are some of the defining images from Hong Kong’s streets.   

Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images
Umbrellas are set up next to the central government offices in Hong Kong on October 1, 2014, a symbol of the so-called "umbrella protests."  
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
A protester covers her mouth with tape that says "democracy" on the streets of Hong Kong on September 30, 2014.
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Protesters take part in a rally on a street outside of Hong Kong Government Complex on September 30, 2014. Thousands of pro democracy supporters continue to occupy the streets surrounding Hong Kong's Financial district.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A sign is seen taped to an overhead bridge outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on October 1, 2014.
DALE de la REY/AFP/Getty Images
Police walk down a stairwell as pro-democracy demonstrators gather for a rally outside the Hong Kong government headquarters on September 29, 2014. 
Ashley Pon/Getty Images
Hundreds of people gather in front of Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan to show support for Hong Kong pro-democracy rallies on October 1, 2014. 
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Protesters paint on an umbrella during a rally in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on October 1, 2014. 
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Protesters carry a defaced cutout of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, as they protest near the central government offices in the business district, September 29, 2014.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
A student draws the protest scene from an overhead bridge outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on October 1, 2014.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria
A man walks along an empty street near the central financial district in Hong Kong September 30, 2014.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Protesters walk along a street near the government headquarters building in Hong Kong, September 30, 2014.
AP Photo/Vincent Yu
A police officer stands guard against yellow ribbons tied by protesters inside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, September 28, 2014.
AP Photo/Wally Santana
Riot police launch tear gas into the crowd as thousands of protesters surround the government headquarters in Hong Kong September 28, 2014.