Protests give Hong Kong youth a voice that is unlikely to go quiet soon

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As police used chainsaws and sledgehammers to clear Hong Kong streets occupied by protesters for nearly three months, a cluster of balloons floated away. It carried a hand-written message on a yellow sign, the colour of the so-called Umbrella Revolution.

"We'll be back," it said.

Not far away, workers dismantled barriers below another sign, this one emblazoned with: "It's just the beginning."

It was also, undeniably, the end — the expected conclusion, Thursday, of a protest that for 74 days drew global attention to an occasionally violent struggle against the influence of an increasingly powerful China.

The demonstrators were led by students who failed in an attempt to force change in election rules that allow Beijing to mastermind who leads Hong Kong. But they succeeded in transforming the heart of China's richest city into a place of furious debate on the future of their home, a debate that resonated broadly as others elsewhere face similar questions over how to respond to a resurgent, and sometimes bellicose, Middle Kingdom.

That discussion is not over. The protests have given Hong Kong youth a voice that is unlikely to go quiet soon.

But on Thursday afternoon, its most visible manifestation began to vanish. Workers broke apart and carted off tents, toilets and study areas, as police arrested those who remained, including students, celebrities, legislators and billionaire media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Hong Kong police said they arrested 209, some of whom left defiant, with fists raised in the air.

Leung Kwok-hung, the legislator known as Long Hair, in an interview after being arrested, called the movement a "courageous resistance with peaceful means," one that "will not decline."

He added: "We have not achieved our goal. But we were not defeated" — even if he held out the possibility that "I may be in jail in the next few months."

Others raced to grab remnants of artwork and messages of international support that flourished in the course of a movement many found inspirational.

"You might have the clearance today but people will come back on to the streets another day," Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow declared.

For many, the moment was bittersweet. The protest area had become an outsized college green that became a home of sorts, with asphalt and concrete turned into sleeping areas, pantries and discussion quarters.

The chief question they faced was how to continue the conversation they thrust into the open — and how to rekindle public interest in a movement people in Hong Kong grew, in large numbers, to want off their streets.

"They need to know where this is heading," said said Simon Young, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong. The primary aim of the protests, which was to push for elections free of Beijing's influence, yielded no fruit. Beijing has not "even budged an inch," Mr. Young said. "Is that still the aim? Or are they willing to work on other objectives? If government's willing to open the door to dialogue again, are they prepared to do that?"

There will be other questions, too, including how to maintain support among students who were willing to sacrifice a semester of their university education, much to the chagrin of parents and grandparents. In the famously-conservative city, where educational performance is held in high regard, will many be willing to ruin another semester's grades?

And can protest organizers decide on tactics that galvanize public support without enraging the taxi drivers and local business owners who rose up against a movement they saw hurting their own financial interests?

Organizers may face more immediate concerns, too, like the court dates they are likely to see. The Hong Kong government will come under pressure to have protesters feel the consequences of their actions. "I don't think a complete amnesty would be necessarily the appropriate response," Mr. Young said. Those arrested may be forced to do community service, or make some pledge about their future conduct, he said.

Still, those aligned against Beijing struck an optimistic note as the remnants of the protest were swept from the streets.

"The movement has been an awakening process for Hong Kong. People who weren't interested in politics before are now and aren't afraid to get arrested, especially the young people," said Labour Party lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan.

With a report from Reuters