Protestors want free elections to be held in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a territory under China. Hong Kong is given a special status by the Chinese government. It can function on its own self like an independent country, but needs many approvals from Chinese government. Hong Kong has a process of electing their leaders but only a few people selected by China can stand for the post of their leader, also called the Chief Executive Officer The leader of Hong Kong is not a President or a Prime Minister. He is called the Chief Executive Officer, or CEO for short. The current CEO of Hong-Kong is Mr Leung Chun-ying.But many people from Hong-Kong want an election process where the government and its leader is elected by the people, as happens in most democratic countries. To bring this idea to Hong-Kong and Chinese government, many people marched over streets and caused blockages in main city areas.Did you read about the Occupy movement that took place in the United States last year and then even other parts of the world? This protest movement in Hong-Kong is also being called "Occupy Central". Protestors are saying they want to peacefully protest without causing any damage or hurting anyone, but the police is not taking any chances and are out in full force. See latest pictures from Hong-Kong below. Click on pictures if you want to make them bigger.
Smiling protest: This picture taken on September 29, 2014 shows three students holding a banner that reads "Soyez réaliste, demandez l'impossible" (Be realistic, demand the impossible), a slogan from the May 1968 student movement in France, during protests in Hong Kong. AFP PHOTO / Gael BRANCHEREAU
Time-Out for now: Protesters took some rest after their pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. When they are tired, they can sleep on the streets!AFP PHOTO / XAUME OLLEROS
Police officers fired "tear gas" on the protestors. This gas irritates the eyes and forces protestors to back-off. Police said some demonstrators were getting out of control and they had to use force to make them stop. AFP PHOTO / XAUME OLLEROS
A demonstrator (Center) gestures to the police. He is wearing swimming goggles to protect himself if the police sprayed pepper spray or tear gas. People behind him are protecting themselves using umbrellas. Umbrellas have become the symbol of this protest. AFP PHOTO / AARON TAM
What do you think?
Should people come out on streets to protest? Does it solve problems? Write your thoughts in the comments below.
