Wedding photos, haircuts and free books at #OccupyCentral in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters are getting creative after four days out on the streets.
Huge crowds from all walks of life gathered in Hong Kong Wednesday in a defiant mood on China’s National Day as support for the movement spread around the world.
But as the pictures below show, they still made time for other things ...
Love in the time of protest
A bride and groom arrived at the protest decked out in their wedding clothes, with a professional photographer in tow to snap them in front of the striking backdrop of hordes of defiant demonstrators.
The crowds cheered as the couple obligingly kissed for the cameras, chanting “Love democracy!” as they posed in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, home to the newest of the protest camps that have spread across the city.
Library for the masses
A library is set up by pro-democracy demonstrators in the district of Admiralty in Hong Kong. PHOTO: AFP
Literary-minded protesters can now relax with a book borrowed from the “community library” that has sprung up at the main demonstration zone in the Admiralty business district.
A couple of people were spotted browsing the contents of a well-stocked bookshelf erected next to a sign politely asking protesters: “Please return after borrowing.”
A modest selection of newspapers was also available.
Free haircut, anyone?
The protest zones have rapidly taken on the feel of a well-kept village, with demonstrators fastidiously recycling, scrubbing out anti-government graffiti, handing out snacks and tending to the sick at first-aid points.
The latest new service: free haircuts being offered at the bottom of a flyover, where tens of thousands of protesters have replaced the usual streams of traffic.
National Day celebrations fall flat
Wednesday marked Chinese National Day – but with tens of thousands of people out on the streets to protest against Beijing’s refusal to grant full democracy to the semi-autonomous city, spectators at the government’s official “extravaganza” marking the occasion were distinctly thin on the ground.
Only a couple of hundred government supporters turned out to attend the patriotic event at Victoria Park.
A model of China’s moon rover, Yutu, lay unexamined in a section hailing the nation’s achievements.
A mostly elderly audience watching a music performance had to be encouraged to break into applause. “Clap a bit, please,” they were told.
Source: AFP
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