2014 Hong Kong protests

The Umbrella Revolution, sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, was a series of sit-in street protests that occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014. The protests began after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) came to a decision regarding proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system. The decision was widely seen to be highly restrictive, and tantamount to the Chinese Communist Party's pre-screening of the candidates for the Hong Kong Chief Executive election in 2017 before the candidates are presented to the Hong Kong electorate.

Students led a strike against the NPCSC's decision beginning on 22 September 2014, and the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism started protesting outside the government headquarters on 26 September 2014. On 28 September, the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement announced that they would begin their civil disobedience campaign immediately. Demonstrations began outside the Hong Kong Government headquarters, and members of what would eventually be called the Umbrella Movement occupied several major city intersections. Protesters blocked both east–west arterial routes in northern Hong Kong Island near Admiralty. Police tactics (including the use of tear gas) and attacks on protesters by opponents that included triad members, triggered more citizens to join the protests, occupying Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. The number of protesters peaked at more than 100,000 at any given time, overwhelming the police thus causing containment errors.

Umbrella

An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs, which is mounted on a wooden, metal or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The word "umbrella" typically refers to a device used for protection from rain. The word parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun. Often the difference is the material used for the canopy; some parasols are not waterproof. Umbrella canopies may be made of fabric or flexible plastic.

Umbrellas and parasols are primarily hand-held portable devices sized for personal use. The largest hand-portable umbrellas are golf umbrellas. Umbrellas can be divided into two categories: fully collapsible umbrellas, in which the metal pole supporting the canopy retracts, making the umbrella small enough to fit in a handbag, and non-collapsible umbrellas in which the support pole cannot retract; only the canopy can be collapsed. Another distinction can be made between manually operated umbrellas and spring-loaded automatic umbrellas which spring open at the press of a button.

Revolution

A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turn around") is a fundamental change in political power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time when the population rises up in revolt against the current authorities. Aristotle described two types of political revolution:

Revolutions have occurred through human history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration, and motivating ideology. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions.

Scholarly debates about what does and does not constitute a revolution center on several issues. Early studies of revolutions primarily analyzed events in European history from a psychological perspective, but more modern examinations include global events and incorporate perspectives from several social sciences, including sociology and political science. Several generations of scholarly thought on revolutions have generated many competing theories and contributed much to the current understanding of this complex phenomenon.