Pro-democracy Fighters Assaulted by Opposing Protestors in Hong Kong : Sophia Davison

              Jonathan Kaiman of The Guardian wrote a well-informed and effective article earlier today on Hong Kong's assaulted pro-democracy fighters, who endured counter-attack and opposition from the police force and others who were against the fighters' cause. Reports of the last two weeks leave us questioning the situation in China, and whether government reform is something to come in the future. The article tells of the increasingly immobile state of Hong Kong due to the barricades set up by the democratic supporters, and how this movement "has paralyzed huge swaths of the city."
               Both parties have used force in varied degrees, pro-democratic fighters having built their own barricades and thrust their ideas out into the public through reinforcing their walls with cement buckets and bamboo structures useful for protesting; as have the opposing forces who have made direct effort to destroy these shelters and protesting parties, usually wearing masks to protect their identity and carrying tools to destroy structures and inflict harm. The police have taken a slightly active, yet partially passive role in this situation. Plenty of police enforcement has been on the seen, breaking barriers apart as well as separating the pro-democratic from the opposition, however, the Hong Kong police force has let most of these fighters duel things out, taking a side, yet allowing for separate battles to be fought within the issue. The incredibly taxing mobility issues created by the barricades and the protesting movements have allowed large issues with traffic and transportation lately, but none of the conflicts seem to be resolving themselves any time soon. We can only hope that the recent outbreaks and retaliations lead to something bigger for China, and that the goal that the "city would achieve universal suffrage by 2017," will become a reality for the driven and inspiring people of Hong Kong who wish merely for their share in freedom.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/13/hong-kong-barricades-rushed-large-crowd