Police brace for new national education protests in Hong Kong

01/10

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A protester masked as police chief Chow with black T-shirt with 'I Lub HK' (a pun in Chinese for 'con' but pronounced like 'love' satirizing recent removal of students during flag-raising on National Day). Banner reads 'No word needed to remove you'.

02/10

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6,000 protesters against the Chinese 'National Education' program, dressed primarily in black, gathered outside Hong Kong Government HQ against 2,000 supporters, dressed mostly in white (top left corner).

03/10

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Massive police numbers were deployed to stop potential clashes. The protest against the government's recent introduction of a national education curriculum which many deem pro-Beijing and is opposed by 52% of the population.

04/10

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Three 18 year-old students (Ivan Long-yim Lam, Kaiser K S and Ms Lee-lee Wong) who started a three-day hunger strike during a rally in August, shared their experiences with the rallying crowd.

05/10

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Retired teacher James Lin-shan Hon, who had been on a hunger strike for 137 hours in Sept, addressed the protesters against the Chinese 'National Education' program outside Hong Kong government headquarters. The black banner reads "Citizens' Plaza".

06/10

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Students sing and gesture at a rally outside the Hong Kong Government Headquarters to celebrate their success in stopping the national education curriculum which many deem pro-Beijing.

07/10

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Professor Leung Yan-wing of Hong Kong School of Education addressed the protesters against the Chinese 'National Education' program outside Hong Kong government headquarters. The red banner reads 'No Brain-washing.'.

08/10

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Lau Nai-keung, a Hong Kong delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC), speaks in support of the pro-Beijing national education curriculum.

09/10

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Pro-Beijing supporters of the national education curriculum blame the Government for backing down.

10/10

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Protesters flash cards with the word 'awakened' written in Chinese during a rally outside the Hong Kong Government Headquarters to celebrate their success in stopping the national education curriculum which many deem pro-Beijing.

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Massive police numbers were deployed outside Hong Kong Govt HQ for possible clashes between 6,000 protesters against the patriotic Chinese 'National Education' program and 2,000 supporters. Only minor scuffles were reported.

As night fell on Wednesday, 6,000 people dressed in black flooded the "Citizens' Plaza", the name given by activists to the open space outside Hong Kong government headquarters.

This appeared to be a flash-back to the days of sit-ins and hunger strike in summer when tens of thousands came here to support the Civil Alliance Against National Education.

The massive turnout for over a week had forced the government to backdown and put the National Education cirriculum on hold.

The Alliance was given only half of the space and the protesters spilled over into the streets.

The other half was given to the Federation of China and Hong Kong Youth Culture, which is hosting a rally in support of the cirriculum at the same time. Both groups were unhappy with the police's arrangement to split the space, separated by metal fences.

Hundreds of people riding multiple coaches arrived at the government headquarters to join the supporters' event and their names were checked-off against a list.

One of the participants, Ms Fang, acknowledged that they are not from Hong Kong, herself living in Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province. She said her friend had arranged for her to come to Hong Kong to attend a community "family reunion".

She admited that she "knows nothing about the National Education cirriculum and its content" and her visit was arranged by the Compatriot Association of Sanwei, a town in Guangdong.

President Qiu Xuan-kong of the Federation of Youth Culture denied that the organization were bringing outside help. When asked about Ms Fong's case, he refused to respond.

Minor scuffles occurred between a handful of people on both side with verbal exchanges and pushing. The police then marched into a formation to separate the two sides which also form human chains to prevent further escalation.

The supporters' party ended at around 9:30 pm while the protesters' rally ended peacefully a little after 10 pm. Police estimated 610 supporters and 2,800 protesters were there by 9 pm.

Yao Guan-dong, one of the parents participated in the hunger strike said, "I disagree with the party on the other side but I will defend to my death their freedom of speech. Having two different views at the same plaza is one of the core values of Hong Kong!" to a standing ovation.

"The anti-brainwashing campaign had brought a new hope for Hong Kong," Yao concluded.