2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
For Race C, Motor Sport journalist Andrew Frankel drove a Jaguar C-Type from England to Monaco and back to compete in the event. The trip was a homage to journalist and racer Tommy Wisdom, who had performed the same journey in 1952 for the only sportscar race held at Monaco; it was done in the same car, chassis XKC005. Frankel wrote about his experiences of the journey and the event in a later magazine column.


2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
In Race D, Joe Colasacco ran strongly in his Ferrari 1512 which had debuted at the previous event in 2012 until he lost second gear.


2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
Race E was a close battle between leader Katsuaki Kubota and second-placed driver Michael Lyons, until Lyons' car developed a misfire and he retired after 10 laps. Second place was eventually taken by Duncan Dayton, with a decisive overtake on Robert Hall at Tabac. The race was red-flagged after a collision between Richard Smeeton and John Goodman.


2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
Michael Lyons cruised to victory in Race F after his main rivals hit trouble: Nathan Kinch crashed in qualifying and front-row qualifier Sam Hancock was relegated to the back after clutch problems on the opening lap. Hancock recovered to seventh by the end of the race. This race was also red-flagged after Kubota crashed at Massenet.


2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, Report
David Shaw qualified on pole for Race G, but jumped the start and was handed a drive-through penalty. The battle for the lead was hotly contested, eventually being settled in favour of Paolo Barilla. A notable car in this race was the MP 301, the only Monégasque car of the weekend. It had been constructed by Société Monégasque de Constructions Automobiles MP, a manufacturer co-founded by Marco Piccinini before he became Team Principal at Scuderia Ferrari.


2014 Hobart International
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by WOSlinker (talk | contribs) at 15:35, 24 November 2019 (remove unused center tags). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2014 Hobart International
The 2014 Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the event and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2014 WTA Tour. It took place at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia from 5 through 11 January 2014.


2014 Hobart International, Points and prize money, Prize money
1 Qualifiers prize money is also the Round of 32 prize money* per team


2014 Hobart International, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2014 Hobart International, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2014 Hobart International – Doubles
Garbiñe Muguruza and María Teresa Torró Flor were the defending champions, but decided not to participate. Monica Niculescu and Klára Zakopalová won the title, defeating Lisa Raymond and Zhang Shuai in the final 6–2, 6–7(5–7), [10–8].


2014 Hobart International – Singles
Elena Vesnina was the defending champion, but she retired in the second round against Estrella Cabeza Candela. Garbiñe Muguruza won her first WTA singles title, defeating Klára Zakopalová in the final, 6–4, 6–0.


2014 Hockenheimring GP2 and GP3 Series rounds
The 2014 German GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on July 19 and 20, 2014 at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Germany as part of the GP2 Series. It is the fifth round of the 2014 season. The race weekend supported the 2014 German Grand Prix.


2014 Hockenheimring GP2 and GP3 Series rounds, GP3 Series classification
The 2014 German GP3 Series round was a pair of motor races held on July 19 and 20, 2014 at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Germany as part of the GP3 Series. It is the fifth round of the 2014 season. The race weekend supported the 2014 German Grand Prix.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 7 and March 22, 2014 at campus locations and at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts–Lowell River Hawks, the defending champions from the 2012–13 season, defeated New Hampshire 4-0 to repeat as champions and became the 7th team in league history to successfully defend their title. Sophomore goalie Connor Hellebuyck was named tournament MVP for his 30-save shutout in the championship match that gave the River Hawks Hockey East's automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The tournament is the 30th in league history, as the conference entered its 30th year of existence. It was also the first tournament since 2004 that neither Boston College nor Boston University advanced to at least the semifinals, played at the TD Garden.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
With the addition of Notre Dame to Hockey East, the tournament was reformatted to include all eleven teams in the conference. With eleven being an uneven number, an unorthodox format was needed to achieve a tournament that allowed all eleven teams to participate. A fourth, Opening Round was added before the traditional Quarterfinals, which consists of single-elimination games between the 6-11 seeds hosted by the higher seed, with the 1-5 seeds earning a bye to the next round.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The 4 and 5 seeds are guaranteed to play each other whereas the 1-3 seeds will play the winners of the 6-11 seed games, with the highest seeds hosting the lowest seeds remaining. The Quarterfinals through Finals are unchanged from the previous season, with the Quarterfinals consisting of a best-of-three series hosted by the higher seeds, while the Semifinals and Final are single games played at the TD Garden. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
This tournament format will only be used for the 2013-14 season, as the addition of the UConn Huskies to the conference in the 2014–15 season will bring the total number of teams in the league up to twelve, which allows for a more even, 12-team tournament format. The tournament format following this year will change to a best-of-three Opening Round between 5-11 seeds, with 1-4 seeds earning a bye. The Quarterfinals through Finals will be unchanged.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Results, Opening Round
On March 7–8 the 6-11 seeds will play in single-elimination games to advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals. Games will be hosted by the higher seeded teams.


2014 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Tournament awards, All-Tournament Team
Note: Hellebuyck became the first player in the 30-year history of the conference to win the award twice, let alone consecutively. He also became the first goaltender to record a shutout in two title games (winning in 2013-14 by a score of 4–0 and in 2012-13 by a score of 1–0), again in consecutive title games.


2014 Hockey India League
The 2014 Hockey India League (known as the Hero Hockey India League for sponsorship reasons), abbreviated as HIL 2014, is the second season of the professional field hockey tournament, Hockey India League. The tournament begun on 25 January 2014 with the final on 23 February 2014.


2014 Hockey India League
The season will see the addition of one new franchise, Kalinga Lancers, making a total of six franchises in the league. Delhi Waveriders won this year title after finishing the second last year.


2014 Hockey India League, Players' auction
A mini-auction was held on November 22, 2013, featuring nearly 154 players from India and around the world, out of which 49 were bought. The base prices for the players varied from USD 2,600 to USD 25,000.


2014 Hockey India League, Statistics, Discipline
Only green and yellow cards were awarded by umpires during the course of the league.


2014 Hockey India League players' auction
2014 Hockey India League Players' Auction or HIL Closed Bid was the mini auction/closed bid of players for the second season of the professional field hockey tournament, Hockey India League. Auction took place on November 22 at Lalit Hotel in New Delhi.


2014 Hockey India League players' auction
A total of 154 players were auctioned out of which 95 were Indian players and 59 were foreign players from 14 countries. The base price for the players varied from US$2,600 to US$25,000. The salary cap available to each franchise for the auction was increased from US$650,000 (₹4 crores) to US$725,000 (₹4.46 crores) as per the requests of the franchises. The players were signed for the term of two years. During the closed bid, Kalinga Lancers, the new franchise of the Hockey India League, bought its 24 players while rest of the five franchises bought players due to the permanent withdrawals to complete their squads.


2014 Hockey India League players' auction, Transfers
Transfer window for second season of HIL was open from August 19 to September 30.


2014 Hockey India League players' auction, Auction
Following is the list of players bought in the auction:


2014 Hockey India League players' auction, Replacement signings
Franchises can sign players after the HIL auction, as replacement of contracted players who are not available to play due to injuries and national commitments. Under HIL rules, the replacements have to be chosen from the pool of players who went unsold in the auction.


2014 Hockey India League players' auction, Unsold players
Following unsold players were added to the reserve pool (according to their base price):


2014 Holiday Bowl
The 2014 Holiday Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2014, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The 37th edition of the Holiday Bowl, it featured Nebraska from the Big Ten Conference and USC from the Pac-12 Conference. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The game started at 5:00 p.m. PST and was telecast on ESPN (also on ESPN Radio). Sponsored by National University, it was officially known as the National University Holiday Bowl.


2014 Holiday Bowl, Teams
This was the fifth overall meeting between these two teams, with USC leading the series 3–0–1 before this game. The last time these two teams met was in 2007.


2014 Holland Hills Classic
The 2014 Boels Rental Hills Classic is a one-day women's cycle race held in the Netherlands, from Sittard to Berg en Terblijt over 128.4 km on 30 May 2014. The race had a UCI rating of 1.1.


2014 Holland Ladies Tour
The 2014 Boels Ladies Tour also known as the 2014 Holland Ladies Tour is the 17th edition of the Holland Ladies Tour, a women's cycle stage race in the Netherlands. The tour is part of the 2014 women's road cycling calendar and will be held from 2 September to 7 September. The tour has six stages, it starts with an individual trial over 10.1 km (6.3 mi) in Tiel and concludes with a hilly stage in Limburg. The tour has an UCI rating of 2.1.


2014 Holland Ladies Tour
Ellen van Dijk won the tour in 2013 and will defend her title.


2014 Holland Ladies Tour, Stages, Stage 1 (ITT)
The first stage of the Boels Rental Ladies Tour was a time trial of 10.1 km (6.3 mi) over the dike between Varik and Tiel. The course was flat but there was head wind during the race.


2014 Holland Ladies Tour, Stages, Stage 1 (ITT)
World Time Trial Champion Ellen van Dijk (Boels–Dolmans) won the time trial 12 seconds ahead of Lisa Brennauer and 24 seconds ahead of Trixi Worrack (both Specialized–lululemon). Van Dijk said after the race that the time trial was very hard and she started a bit too fast. Furthermore, she said that she was very happy with the victory. She invested a lot of time in the time trial the last period and was pleased that after several second places in time trials this year she now took home the victory.


2014 Holland Ladies Tour, Stages, Stage 2
500 m (1,640.4 ft) before the finish the last two leaders Willeke Knol (Giant–Shimano) en Carmen Small (Specialized–lululemon) were pulled back by the bunch. They were in the attack together with Anouska Koster (Futurumshop-NWVG) and Michela Pavin (Alé Cipollini) for over 50 km (31.1 mi). The race ended in a bunch sprint won by Lisa Brennauer (Specialized–lululemon) ahead of Jolien D'Hoore (Lotto Belisol Ladies) and Marianne Vos (Rabo–Liv). Ellen van Dijk (Boels–Dolmans) kept her lead in the general classification. But with Brennauer taking 10 bonification seconds at the finish line, she is now less than a second in second place behind Van Dijk in the classification.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400
The 2014 Hollywood Casino 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on October 5, 2014, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5–mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the 30th race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship, and the fourth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Joey Logano scored his fifth win of the season. Kyle Larson finished second while Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (2nd), Austin Dillon (8th), and Cole Whitt (23rd).


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Previous week's race
Jeff Gordon took the lead on the final pit cycle and kept it to score his 92nd career win in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. “I knew we could compete with the 2 car (Brad Keselowski),” Gordon said. “The 2 was really good on short runs but we could run them down. He made us work for it there at the end... He got to me and I was really, really tight in traffic there at the end, so I didn’t know if we were gonna pull it off.”


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Background
The Kansas Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Jeff Gordon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.515 and a speed of 196.257 mph (315.845 km/h). Kevin Harvick won the pole with a time of 27.325 and a speed of 197.621 mph (318.040 km/h). “I’m just really proud of everybody on our Budweiser team,” said Harvick. “We’ve been dealt some bad luck throughout the year, but it hasn’t fazed them in continuing to work on the cars and the speed. The first three weeks we have led a bunch of laps and qualified well.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
Last week had them covered and a valve stem got knocked off by a lug nut. Keep doing the things that you are doing and that luck will all come full circle and as long as the cars continue to be fast that stuff all comes back to you. Hopefully it peaks at the right time.” "I'm pretty happy to be in the top five, that's better than where we started in May," said Gordon. “Sixth isn't bad; we were 17th in practice, but we have to keep working on it,” said Keselowski.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Practice and qualifying
“This is probably our weakest track in Chase." Marcos Ambrose was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.176 and a speed of 191.652 mph (308.434 km/h). Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.377 and a speed of 190.295 mph (306.250 km/h). Kurt Busch spun his car exiting turn 4 and got stuck in the grass. He was forced to go to a backup car and will start last. Alex Bowman will also start last after tagging the wall in turn 4 and rolling out the backup car.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race was scheduled to begin at 2:16 PM Eastern time, but it started six minutes late when Kevin Harvick led the field to the green.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Jamie McMurray took the lead from Harvick on lap 44.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
McMurray surrendered the lead on lap 47 to pit and handed the lead to Jeff Gordon.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Gordon surrendered the lead the next lap to pit. Brad Keselowski assumed the lead.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Keselowski pitted on lap 49 and McMurray cycled back to the lead on lap 50.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Caution flew for the first time on lap 71 for debris in turn 4. Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick traded the lead on pit road with the No.1 car pitting before the start/finish line. He took the lead back from Harvick.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race restarted on lap 76. Greg Biffle about spun the car out exiting turn 2, but managed to save it. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took the lead.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Caution flew for the second time on lap 79 when Kurt Busch slammed the wall in turn 4.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race restarted on lap 84. McMurray tapped the right rear corner panel of Jeff Gordon and he kissed the wall exiting turn 4.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
A multi-car crash on the backstretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 85. It started when Greg Biffle rear-ended Jimmie Johnson, who clipped Justin Allgaier in the process, and sent him into the inside wall. Allgaier continued down and collected Josh Wise. "Obviously a big hit in Chase points," Johnson said. "Puts a lot of pressure on us next week and the week after. We've got to be on our game at Charlotte and Talladega."


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was leading the race when the right-front tire blew and sent him into the wall exiting turn 4 bringing out the fourth caution of the race on lap 122. "The tire came apart going through the corner," said Earnhardt Jr., who was shooting for his third straight top 10 at Kansas. "We were running along there. I really wasn't pushing the car that hard and I had a real big lead so I was just backing the corner up and letting the car turn. Going into (Turn) 3 the tread of the tire came all the way off." Joey Logano took the lead as a result.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race restarted on lap 128 and Kevin Harvick retook the lead.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Logano took the lead back from Harvick on lap 135.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Caution flew for the fifth time on lap 160 when Brad Keselowski blew a right-front and slammed the wall in turn 2. Kasey Kahne took just two tires and exited pit road first.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race restarted on lap 165 and Kahne promptly lost the lead to Joey Logano.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Kevin Harvick retook the lead on lap 167 and Logano took it right back the next lap.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Caution flew for the sixth time on lap 190 after Joey Gase rear-ended the wall in turn 3. Harvick exited pit road as the leader.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
Caution flew for the seventh time with 38 laps to go after Greg Biffle slammed the wall in turn 4. Ryan Newman took only two tires and won the race off pit road.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The eighth caution flew with 32 laps to go after Kasey Kahne hit the wall in turn 2. "Something happened to my tire," Kahne said. "I was just about ready to crash and got it to pit road before it blew. Then we got back out and I lost the back of it and clipped the wall. We had a top three car before that. We really did."


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
The race restarted with 28 laps to go, Newman lost the lead to Joey Logano and he held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson to score his fifth win of the season. “It was a crazy race, and I had such a fast Pennzoil Ford," said Logano. It is awesome to be back in victory lane. When the top opened up, the car just took off. Me and the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) were the only ones that seemed to be able to run up there. We had a cat and mouse (with Larson) during portions of the late run.


2014 Hollywood Casino 400, Report, Race
I just had to be able to work the traffic and keep my momentum up. We just have to keep capitalizing going forward.” “The easiest approach is to go to Charlotte and win,’’ Keselowski said. “The bad side of this Chase is we took a big points lead in here and gave it all back to zero. The good side of it is that you can still win your way out of it, and we have two really good tracks for us ahead. If we can just win at one of them, we will be fine. Maybe if we have two really good finishes we will be fine. That is the good side.”


2014 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The 2014 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 11th-year head coach Tom Gilmore and played their home games at Fitton Field. They were a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 4–8, 2–4 in Patriot League play to finish in a tie for fifth place.


2014 Home United FC season
The 2014 Home United FC season involves Home United competing in the 2014 S.League. They are also competing in the 2014 Singapore Cup.


2014 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
The 2014 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio was the fifteenth round to the 2014 IndyCar Series season. Scott Dixon won the race, giving him his fifth Mid-Ohio win in eight seasons.


2014 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The 2014 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the third race of the 2014 IndyCar Series season. The race was run on April 27, 2014 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States at Barber Motorsports Park.


2014 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Race results
Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto
The 2014 Honda Indy Toronto was a Canadian open wheel motor race, held as the thirteenth and fourteenth rounds of the 2014 IndyCar Series season. It was the 28th annual edition of the Toronto Indy, and the 29th and 30th  IndyCar races to be held at the 1.755-mile (2.824 km) street circuit at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The races were contested over 65 and 56 laps respectively.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race background
Having successfully hosted a double-header race for the first time in 2013, IndyCar again scheduled two full points races for the Toronto weekend, with race one on Saturday and race two on Sunday.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race background
After rain on Saturday washed out race one of the weekend double bill, IndyCar officials decided to reschedule the two races on Sunday, with race one in the morning and race two in the afternoon. The postponement created the first same-day doubleheader since the 1981 Kraco Twin 125s which were swept by Rick Mears at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race 1 report
Sébastien Bourdais scored pole position for the first race of the weekend. This was Bourdais' first pole since the 2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, at Assen. Originally scheduled to be held on Saturday afternoon, the race was held on Sunday morning; Bourdais led 58 of the race's 65 laps to take his first victory since the 2007 Gran Premio Tecate.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race 1 report, Round 13 Classification
Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race 2 report
Mike Conway driving for Ed Carpenter Racing won race 2, for his second win of the season after winning Long Beach and it marked the fourth IndyCar victory of his career. Rain fell once again during race 2, with Penske teammates Helio Castroneves and Will Power fighting for the lead early. Conway took advantage of a drying track and pitted on Lap 43 for dry weather tires knowing the slicks would be quicker. Conway took the lead on Lap 51, while Castroneves dropped off the pace, and holding on for the victory.


2014 Honda Indy Toronto, Race 2 report, Round 14 Classification
Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.


2014 Hong Kong Sevens
The 2014 Hong Kong Sevens was the 39th edition of the Hong Kong Sevens and the seventh tournament of the 2013–2014 Sevens World Series. It took place at its long-time home, Hong Kong Stadium.


2014 Hong Kong Sevens
The Cup title was claimed by New Zealand, with South Africa, Scotland and Kenya respectively claiming the lower-level Plate, Bowl and Shield. Japan won the World Series Core Team Qualifier to earn promotion to "core" status for the 2014–15 series.


2014 Hong Kong Sevens, Format
The teams were drawn into four pools of four teams each. Each team played all others in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup/Plate brackets. The bottom two teams from each group entered the Bowl/Shield brackets.


2014 Hong Kong Sevens, Teams
28 teams were scheduled to participate—16 in the main draw, and 12 in the Core Team Qualifier.


2014 Hong Kong Super Series
The 2014 Hong Kong Super Series will be the twelfth super series tournament of the 2014 BWF Super Series. The tournament will be contested in Hong Kong from November 18–23, 2014 with a total purse of $350,000. A qualification will occur to fill four places in all five disciplines of the main draws.


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open
The 2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open was a women's professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was part of the 2014 WTA Tour and a return of the Hong Kong Open women's tennis tournament last held in 1993. It took place in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, from September 8 to 14.


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Points and prize money, Prize money
1 Qualifiers prize money is also the Round of 32 prize money* per team


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open – Doubles
This was the first edition of Hong Kong Tennis Open.


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open – Doubles
Karolína and Kristýna Plíšková won the title, defeating Patricia Mayr-Achleitner and Arina Rodionova in the final, 6–2, 2–6, [12–10].


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open – Singles
This was the first edition of Hong Kong Tennis Open.


2014 Hong Kong Tennis Open – Singles
Sabine Lisicki won the title, defeating Karolína Plíšková in the final, 7–5, 6–3.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign
The 2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, also known as 922 Class Boycott and 926 Class Boycott, is a student strike protesting the PRC Standing Committee of the National People's Congress's restriction on nomination system of the election of the Chief Executive in the 2016 and 2017 Hong Kong Political Reform. The campaign, jointly organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism, was participated in by university students from 22 to 26 September and later also by secondary school students on 26 September. The student movement evolved into the 2014 Hong Kong protests in which several regions across the Victoria Harbour were occupied by pro-democracy protesters.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Background
On 31 August 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) of the PRC announced its decision on the electoral reform: although universal suffrage was introduced, the Nominating Committee under the new framework would be inherited without change from the 1200-member Election Committee in the previous system. Hong Kong students were dissatisfied of the framework, feeling it is too conservative and restrictive. Two student groups, the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) and Scholarism, initiated a class boycott aimed at students in 24 higher education institutions and hundreds of secondary schools on 22 and 26 September respectively, to object the decision of the NPCSC and seek its accountability to citizens and students.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Background
In July 2014, Alex Chow Yong-kang, Secretary-General of the HKFS, stated that if the NPCSC rejected civil nomination or maintained the current Nominating Committee structure, the HKFS would call for a class boycott in September 2014 in order to demonstrate the extent of civil discontent over the HKSAR government. When the decision of the NPCSC was announced, Alex Chow reiterated that the purpose of the class boycott is to call for all members of society in Hong Kong to reflect on how much they are willing to give for a better place to live in.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Background
A "Class Boycott Committee" was formed by faculty staff from 14 universities and 328 higher-education, while several alumni organisations issued a joint declaration in support of the class boycott. 108 academics agreed to hold "Seminar on Democracy" with the protesters between Tuesday and Friday. Some other student organisations went onto the streets to support the class boycott.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Background
Scholarism organised a demonstration outside the Central Government Offices on 13 September 2014. Protesters wearing yellow ribbon and blind-folded with red cloth declared class boycott by secondary schools on 26 September to echo the wider class boycott movement. The fact that it tried to influence secondary school students to go on strike caused some resistance from society. In response to the criticisms, Scholarism held a number of meetings with secondary school parents to explain the motivation behind the event and urged students to seek agreement from parents before attending the boycott.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Background
It also appealed to students to attend forums discussing the electoral reform, organise concern groups on electoral reforms, distribute yellow ribbons and pamphlets outside schools, and set up booths on the streets. While Scholarism stated that several secondary schools were in support of the strike, it asked schools to respect the students' freedom to participate in political activities.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 22 September
University teachers and tertiary students across Hong Kong wearing white shirts and yellow ribbons gathered at the University Mall (百萬大道), Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). At 2:20 p.m., Alex Chow, the Secretary-General of the HKFS, officially declared the start of the class boycott. He questioned why the future of 7 million Hong Kong people was not determined by themselves, but by the 170 handpicked members of the NPCSC. He stated that students in higher education institution should shoulder the civil and social responsibilities of Hong Kong, and live up to the hope of society by solving the social crisis. He also stated that as long as the Chinese Government and tycoons monopolised Hong Kong politics, livelihood problems would remain unsolved. HKFS demanded the government to:


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 22 September
Yvonne Leung, the President of the Hong Kong University Students' Union, expressed that the class boycott might escalate into an indefinite protest, depending on the response from the Government. Teachers and students gave speeches one after another. At 5:30 p.m., organisers of the campaign invited academics to give lessons on civil issues to the participants, in order to put into practice "Boycott Classes, Continue Learning", including Choy Chi-Keung, Andrew To, Tam Chun-yin, Daisy Chan, Chow Po-chung and Bruce Lui etc. The first day of the strike ended with a film shown at 7:00 p.m. According to announcement made by HKFS, 13,000 people had joined the rally.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 23–25 September
The Class Boycott campaign was moved to Tamar Park in Admiralty. 108 Scholars also responded to the call and started the Civic auditorium. On the second day of the boycott, HKFS held a rally at night and indicated about 2,000 people had attended. Alex Chow Yong-kang, the Secretary of HKFS, expressed that he was not disappointed with the number of participants since it was only the second day of the boycott.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 23–25 September
On the fourth day of the boycott, HKFS had another rally and announced 5,000 people participated. More and more people joined the rally after the nightfall and almost filled the entire Tamar Park. After the end of rally at about 21:30, HKFS launched a march to the Government House without any applications of the notice of no objection from the police force. Along the march, there were slogans protesting NPC's restriction on the nomination and the Chief Executive, CY Leung, not answering the students before deadline. Before the march, HKFS reminded the march had not been approved and protesters might have the risk of being arrested. Citizens were able to forward their Chinese and English name and contact numbers to the organiser for assistance if being arrested.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
The Class Boycott campaign was held on Tim Mei Avenue and the square outside the Legislative Council Complex, because an organisation applied to hold a celebration event of 65th anniversary of the People's Republic China at the Tamar Park. It is also the day on which Scholarism hosted the class boycott movement for secondary school students. Joshua Wong, leading activist of Scholarism, pronounced the boycott statement. It was followed by a lecture held by Benjamin Au Yeung Wai Hoo, Senior Lecturer from department of Chinese, Chinese University of Hong Kong. The host mentioned there was 1,500 secondary school student joined the boycott movement. Total number of participants reached 3,000.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
After the dusk, Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) held the last gathering at Tim Mei Avenue and square outside Legislative Council Complex. Large number of people entered the assembly site though the bridge connecting Admiralty Centre and the Government Headquarters leading to MTR Admiralty station. The assembly started at 8 p.m with a sharing session by Joshua Wong, a secondary school student under the pseudonym "Gary" and senior members from HKFS. The meeting also showed three videos filmed by artist Anthony Wong Yiu Ming, students activists from Macau and Taiwan activist Lin Fei-fan, one of the leaders of Sunflower Student Movement, in support of the event.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
The assembly ended at 10 p.m. It was scheduled for a film sharing session by Anita Lee Chi Kwan, Assistant Professor of Languages and General Education Center, Tung Wah College, in a planned exchange with Margaret Ng. The organisers, however, postponed the session because of technical reason and the stage was handed over to Joshua Wong. At 10:30 p.m., Joshua Wong, all of a sudden, called for the crowd to "retake" the Civic Square, around which fences were built two months earlier.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
Led by members of HKFS, hundred of protesters climbed across fences and tore down the barriers around the flag stage. The police surrounded hundreds of protesters, and then further mobilised towards the Civic Square and clashed with the protesters. The police pepper-sprayed them and displayed their batons. In chaos, it was reported a protester was having a heart attack. The police force originally refused to let the medics enter, and later permitted under the protesters pressure. At 10:52 p.m. police handcuffed and arrested Joshua Wong for forcible entry to government premises, disorderly conduct in public place and unlawful assembly. As visible wounds were found, he was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital for medical inspections before sent to the Central Police station. Many people on site were sent to the hospital because of injuries or feeling unwell. The police and protesters fell into stalemate later on.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
The organiser announced the start of civil disobedience, and reminded participants to uninstall communication software from their phones. They also encouraged the protesters to send their personal information to the HKFS secretariat in order to receive legal support.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Chronology, 26 September
This raid was planned in secret. Neither the media nor the students were notified. According to Ming Pao's report, which summarised information provided by HKFS, Scholarism and protesters, this raid was proposed by HKFS and Scholarism a few days before its implementation on 26 September. Hundreds of participants were notified secretly two hours before the operation, gathered at the car park outside the Legislative Council Complex and the Central Government Offices around 10:15 p.m., and then raided the Civic Square once instructed.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
After the raid on the Civic Square, HKFS announced they would continue the assembly and called up more people to join them. HKFS indicated that 50,000 participants were at the assembly at night (excluding those counter-enclosing the venue from the outside). Later, police arrested the host of the assembly and cleared the stage.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
Overnight, riot police was deployed and the protesters blocked the roads to stop the reinforcement of the police from reaching the Central Government Offices. Police used peppar spray, against which the protesters defended themselves with umbrellas. Umbrella would later become a symbol of the occupation protest. Police surrounded the Civic Square not to allow any protesters to enter or exit it.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
By 1pm, Police cleared the Civic Square and arrested protesters occupying there, including Leung Kwok-hung, legislator and chairman of the League of Social Democrats, Alex Chow and Lester Shum, Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of HKFS. Altogether, 61 protesters were arrested for forcible entry into government premises and unlawful assembly.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
At night, HKFS and Scholarism organised another assembly. Having declared the assembly unlawful, police blockaded Exit A of Admiralty MTR station and bridges outside the Central Office Complex until the size of the crowd caused the police to lift the blockade.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
At 1:30 am, 28 September, Benny Tai, co-initiator of the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement, declared the official launch of the "Occupy Central" campaign. In the afternoon, as more and more people flooded to Admiralty in support of the students, the police completely blockaded the access to the government headquarters. Later, the protesters began to occupy Harcourt Road which police responded by using tear gas, triggering widespread occupations at Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Aftermaths
The federation later disclosed that it had spent HK$332,000 ($42,500) to finance the boycott activities.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Government feedback
On 5 September, government officials commented on the class boycott campaign. The Chief Executive of HKSAR, Leung Chun-ying expressed that people should remain calm and try to understand the political reform suggested by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in a prudent manner. "The Universal Suffrage for Chief Executive is a step forward and the voting right should be appreciated," he said. After the class boycott campaign being launched, Leung made no promises on whether he would be meeting the students.


2014 Hong Kong class boycott campaign, Government feedback
On 15 September, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Carrie Lam and the Secretary for Education, Eddie Ng called a meeting with presidents and vice-chancellors of the eight local universities, in which they discussed the "Occupy Central" demonstration and class boycott campaign. Ms. Lam denied giving pressure on university presidents and claimed that the Government would not interfere with students' activities as long as they were legal and rational. As for secondary school students, the Government held the same stance as some education institutions that under-aged students should not participate in the class boycott campaign.


2014 Hong Kong protests
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.


2014 Hong Kong protests
The protests began after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) issued 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 (CCP)'s pre-screening of the candidates for the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.


2014 Hong Kong protests
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, events developed rapidly. The Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement announced the beginning of their civil disobedience campaign. Students and other members of the public demonstrated outside government headquarters, and some began to occupy 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 triad attacks on protesters led more citizens to join the protests and to occupy 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.


2014 Hong Kong protests
Government officials in Hong Kong and in Beijing denounced the occupation as "illegal" and a "violation of the rule of law", and Chinese state media and officials claimed repeatedly that the West had played an "instigating" role in the protests, and warned of "deaths and injuries and other grave consequences." The protests precipitated a rift in Hong Kong society, and galvanised youth – a previously apolitical section of society – into political activism or heightened awareness of their civil rights and responsibilities. Not only were there fist fights at occupation sites and flame wars on social media, family members found themselves on different sides of the conflict.


2014 Hong Kong protests
Key areas in Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok were occupied and remained closed to traffic for 77 days. Despite numerous incidents of intimidation and violence by triads and thugs, particularly in Mong Kok, and several attempts at clearance by the police, suffragists held their ground for over two months. After the Mong Kok occupation site was cleared with some scuffles on 25 November, Admiralty and Causeway Bay were cleared with no opposition on 11 and 14 December, respectively.


2014 Hong Kong protests
The Hong Kong government's use of the police and courts to resolve political issues led to accusations that these institutions had been turned into political tools, thereby compromising the police and judicial system in the territory and eroding the rule of law in favour of "rule by law". At times violent police action during the occupation was widely perceived to have damaged the reputation of what was once recognised as one of the most efficient, honest and impartial police forces in the Asia Pacific region. The protests ended without any political concessions from the government, but instead triggered rhetoric from Chief Executive of Hong Kong CY Leung and mainland officials about rule of law and patriotism, and an assault on academic freedoms and civil liberties of activists.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Political background
As a result of negotiations and the 1984 agreement between China and Britain, Hong Kong was returned to China and became its first Special Administrative Region on 1 July 1997, under the principle of "one country, two systems". Hong Kong has a different political system from mainland China. Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Political background
The Hong Kong Basic Law, the constitutional document drafted by the Chinese side before the handover based on the terms enshrined in the Joint Declaration, governs its political system, and stipulates that Hong Kong shall have a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign relations and military defence. The declaration stipulates that the region maintain its capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of its people for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. The guarantees over the territory's autonomy and the individual rights and freedoms are enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law, which outlines the system of governance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, but which is subject to the interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC).


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Political background
The leader of Hong Kong, the Chief Executive, is currently elected by a 1200-member Election Committee, though Article 45 of the Basic Law states that """the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures." A 2007 decision by the Standing Committee opened the possibility of selecting the Chief Executive via universal suffrage in the 2017 Chief Executive election, and the first round of consultations to implement the needed electoral reforms ran for five months in early 2014. Chief Executive CY Leung then, per procedure, submitted a report to the Standing Committee inviting them to deliberate whether it is necessary to amend the method of selection of the Chief Executive.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Political background
As early as January 2013, legal scholar Benny Tai published an article by launching a non-violent civil disobedience of occupying Central if the government's proposal failed to satisfy the "international standards in relation to universal suffrage". A group called the Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was formed in March 2013 and held rounds of deliberations on the electoral reform proposals and strategies. In June 2014, the OCLP conducted a "civic referendum" on its own electoral reform proposal in which 792,808 residents, equivalent to over one fifth of the registered electorate, participated.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Political background
In June 2014, the State Council issued a white paper called The Practice of the 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region claiming "comprehensive jurisdiction" over the territory. "The high degree of autonomy of the HKSAR [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] is not full autonomy, nor a decentralised power," it said. "It is the power to run local affairs as authorised by the central leadership."


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Standing Committee decision on electoral reform
On 31 August 2014, the tenth session of the Standing Committee in the twelfth National People's Congress set limits for the 2016 Legislative Council election and 2017 Chief Executive election. While notionally allowing for universal suffrage, the decision imposes the standard that "the Chief Executive shall be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong," and stipulates "the method for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage must provide corresponding institutional safeguards for this purpose".


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Standing Committee decision on electoral reform
The decision states that for the 2017 Chief Executive election, a nominating committee, mirroring the present 1200-member Election Committee be formed to nominate two to three candidates, each of whom must receive the support of more than half of the members of the nominating committee. After popular election of one of the nominated candidates, the Chief Executive-elect "will have to be appointed by the Central People's Government." The process of forming the 2016 Legislative Council would be unchanged, but following the new process for the election of the Chief Executive, a new system to elect the Legislative Council via universal suffrage would be developed with the approval of Beijing.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Standing Committee decision on electoral reform
The Standing Committee decision is set to be the basis for electoral reform crafted by the Legislative Council. Hundreds of suffragists gathered on the night of the Beijing announcement near the government offices to protest the decision.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Background, Standing Committee decision on electoral reform
In an opinion poll carried out by the Chinese University of Hong Kong between 8 and 15 October 2014, only 36.1% of 802 people surveyed accepted the NPCSC's decision. The acceptance rate rose to 55.6% on the proviso that the HKSAR Government would propose democratising the nominating committee after the planned second phase of public consultation.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, July 2014
In an atmosphere of growing discontent, the annual 1 July protest march attracted the biggest numbers in a decade and ended in an overnight sit-in in Central with 5,000 police conducting over 500 arrests.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
At a gathering in Hong Kong on 1 September to explain the NPCSC decision of 31 August, deputy secretary general Li Fei said that the procedure would protect the broad stability of Hong Kong now and in the future. Pro -democracy advocates said the decision was a betrayal of the principle of "one person, one vote," in that candidates deemed unsuitable by the Beijing authorities would be pre-emptively screened out by the mechanism, a point from which Li did not resile while maintaining that the process was "democratic". About 100 suffragists attended the gathering, and some were ejected for heckling. Police broke up a group of demonstrators protesting outside the hotel where Li was staying, arresting 19 people for illegal assembly.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
In response to the NPCSC decision, the Democratic Party legislators promised to veto the framework for both elections as being inherently undemocratic; Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) announced that it would organise civil disobedience protests and its three convenors led the Black Banner protest march on 14 September 2017 from Causeway Bay to Central.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
On 13 September 2014, representatives of Scholarism, including 17-year-old Agnes Chow Ting, staged a small protest against the NPCSC decision outside the Central Government Offices and announced a class boycott for university students for the week commencing 22 September. Alex Chow encouraged students unable to join in to wear a yellow ribbon to signify their support. The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) (representing tertiary students) and Scholarism mobilised students for the class boycott, beginning with a rally attracting 13,000 students on the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus on the afternoon of 22 September.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
Scholarism organised a protest gathering by school students at the large Tamar Park, an integral part of the Government Headquarters complex, applying for permission from the responsible government department to occupy the part from 23 to 26 September. Permission was granted only for the first three days, the fourth day being reserved for a virtually unattended pro-Beijing rally.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
Then having received a "notice of no objection" from the police to assemble for the 24 hours of 26 September 2014 on the relatively little-used Tim Mei Avenue, the students moved there in their hundreds, blocking traffic near the eastern entrance of the Central Government Offices. At around 22:30, responding to calls from, first, Joshua Wong, the Convenor of Scholarism, and then Nathan Law, and led by Wong, up to 100 protesters went to "reclaim" Civic Square, a customarily open but recently closed public access area, by clambering over the perimeter fence.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
Wong was almost immediately arrested, as police deployed pepper spray on those entering the square. The police surrounded protesters at the centre and prepared to remove them overnight. Protesters who chose to depart were allowed to do so; the rest were picked off and carried away one by one by groups of four or more police officers.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
By the midnight of 26/27 September, 13 people had been arrested including Joshua Wong. Wong was held for 46 hours, released by police at 20:30 on 28 September only upon his writ of habeas corpus being granted by the High Court.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
At 1:20 am (of 27 September), the police used pepper spray on a crowd that had gathered outside the Legislative Council, another part of the same complex, and some students were injured.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Initial protests
At 1:30 pm on 27 September, the police carried out the second round of clearances, and 48 men and 13 women were arrested for forcible entry into government premises and unlawful assembly and one man was alleged to be carrying an offensive weapon. A police spokesman declared the assembly outside the Central Government Complex at Tim Mei Avenue illegal, and advised citizens to avoid the area. The arrested demonstrators, including Legislative Councillor Leung Kwok-hung and some HKFS members, were released around 9 pm. HKFS representatives Alex Chow and Lester Shum were, however, detained for 30 hours. The police eventually cleared the assembly, arresting a total of 78 people.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
Occupy Central with Love and Peace had been expected to start their occupation on 1 October, but this was accelerated to capitalise on the mass student presence. At 1:40 am on Sunday, 28 September, Benny Tai, one of the founders of OCLP, announced its commencement at a rally near the Central Government Complex.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
Later that morning, protests escalated as police blocked roads and bridges entering Tim Mei Avenue. Protest leaders urged citizens to come to Admiralty to encircle the police. Tensions rose at the junction of Tim Mei Avenue and Harcourt Road after the police used pepper spray.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
At around 4 pm on 28 September 2014, the footpaths of Harcourt Road could no longer contain the large numbers of demonstrators who were streaming to the location in support of those facing police pressure on Tim Mei Avenue. They spilled onto the busy artery in an irresistible surge. Traffic came to an abrupt halt. Occupy Central had begun.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
As night fell, armed riot police advanced from Wan Chai towards Admiralty and unfurled a banner that stated "WARNING, TEAR SMOKE". Seconds later, between 17:58 and 18:01, shots of tear gas were fired. Then, the police gave them the above-mentioned message and a different message of "DISPERSE OR WE FIRE" concurrently. At around 19:00, the police was telling them to "move back (向後褪)" and pointed Remington Model 870 at them. Around 6 hours later, Leung Chun-ying denied gunshot by the police.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
The heavy-handed policing, including the use of tear gas on peaceful protesters, inspired tens of thousands of citizens to join the protests in Admiralty that night. Containment errors by the police – the closure of Tamar Park and Admiralty station – caused a spill-over to other parts of the city, including Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. 3,000 protesters occupied a road in Mong Kok and 1,000 went to Causeway Bay. The total number of protesters on the streets swelled to 80,000, at times considerably exceeding 100,000.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
The police confirmed that they fired tear gas 87 times. At least 34 people were injured in that day's protests. According to police spokesmen, officers exercised "maximum tolerance", and tear gas was used only after protesters refused to disperse and "violently charged". The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, however, that police officers were seen charging the suffragists. The media recalled that last time Hong Kong police used tear gas had been on Korean protesters during the 2005 World Trade Organization conference.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, September 2014, Occupy Central
On 29 September, the police adopted a less aggressive approach, sometimes employing negotiators to urge protesters to leave. 89 protesters were arrested; there were 41 casualties, including 12 police officers. Chief Secretary for Administration, Carrie Lam announced that the second round of public consultations on political reform, originally planned to be completed by the end of the year, would be postponed.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
Joshua Wong and several Scholarism members attended the National Day flag raising ceremony on 1 October at the Golden Bauhinia Square, having undertaken not to shout slogans or make any gestures during the flag raising. Instead, the students faced away from the flag to show their discontent. Then District Councillor Paul Zimmerman opened a yellow umbrella in protest inside the reception after the ceremony. Protesters set up a short-lived fourth occupation site at a section of Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
By 2 October, activists had almost encircled the Central Government Headquarters. Shortly before midnight, the Hong Kong Government responded to an ultimatum demanding universal suffrage with unscreened nominees: Carrie Lam agreed to hold talks with student leaders about political reform at a time to be fixed.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 3 October, violence erupted in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay when groups of anti-Occupy Central activists including triad members and locals attacked suffragists while tearing down their tents and barricades. A student suffered head injuries. Journalists were also attacked. The Foreign Correspondents' Club accused the police of appearing to arrest alleged attackers but releasing them shortly after. One legislator accused the government of orchestrating triads to clear the protest sites. It was also reported that triads, as proprietors of many businesses in Mong Kok, had their own motivations to attack the protesters. There were 20 arrests, and 18 people injured, including 6 police officers. Eight of the people arrested had triad backgrounds, but were released on bail. Student leaders blamed the government for the attacks, and halted plans to hold talks with the government.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 4 October, counter-protesters wearing blue ribbons marched in support of the police. Patrick Ko of the Voice of Loving Hong Kong group accused the suffragists of having double standards, and said that if the police had enforced the law, protesters would have already been evicted. The anti-Occupy group Caring Hong Kong Power staged their own rally, at which they announced their support for the use of fire-arms by police and the deployment of the People's Liberation Army.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
In the afternoon, Chief Executive CY Leung insisted that government operations and schools affected by the occupation must resume on Monday. Former Democratic Party lawmaker Cheung Man-Kwong claimed the occupy campaign was in a "very dangerous situation," and urged them to "sit down and talk, in order to avoid tragedy". The Federation of Students demanded the government explain the previous night's events and said they would continue their occupation of streets. Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok denied accusations against the police, and explained that tear gas had been used in Admiralty but not in Mong Kok because of the difference in geography. Police also claimed that protesters' barricades had prevented reinforcements from arriving on the scene.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
Democrat legislator James To said that "the government has used organised, orchestrated forces and even triad gangs in [an] attempt to disperse citizens." Violent attacks on journalists were strongly condemned by The Foreign Correspondents' Club, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association and local broadcaster RTHK. Three former US consuls general to Hong Kong wrote a letter to the Chief Executive asking him to solve the disputes peacefully.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 5 October, leading establishment figures sympathetic to the liberal cause, including university heads and politicians, urged the suffragists to leave the streets for their own safety. The rumoured clearance operation by the police did not occur. At lunchtime the government offered to hold talks if the protesters cleared the roads. Later that night, the government agreed to guarantee the protesters' safety, and HKFS leader Alex Chow announced that he had agreed to begin preparations for talks with Carrie Lam.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 9 October, the government cancelled the meeting with student leaders that had been scheduled for 10 October. Carrie Lam explained at a news conference that "We cannot accept the linking of illegal activities to whether or not to talk." Alex Chow said "I feel like the government is saying that if there are fewer people on the streets, they can cancel the meeting. Students urge people who took part in the civil disobedience to go out on the streets again to occupy." Pan-democrat legislators threatened to veto non-essential funding applications, potentially disrupting government operations, in support of the suffragists.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 10 October, in defiance of police warnings, thousands of protesters, many with tents, returned to the streets. Over a hundred tents were pitched across the eight-lane Harcourt Road thoroughfare in Admiralty, alongside dozens of food and first-aid marquees. The ranks of protesters continued to swell on the 11th.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014
On 11 October, the student leaders issued an open letter to Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping saying that CY Leung's report to NPCSC on democratic development disregarded public opinion and ignored "Hong Kong people's genuine wishes."


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Clearance actions
At 5.30 am on 12 October, police started an operation to remove unmanned barricades in Harcourt Road (Admiralty site) to "reduce the chance of traffic accidents". In a pre-recorded TV interview CY Leung declared that his resignation "would not solve anything". He said the decision to use tear gas was made by the police without any political interference. Several press organisations including the Hong Kong Journalists Association objected to the exclusion of other journalists, and said that Leung was deliberately avoiding questions about the issues surrounding the electoral framework.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Clearance actions
On 13 October, hundreds of men, many wearing surgical masks and carrying crowbars and cutting tools, began removing barricades at various sites and attacking suffragists. Police made attempts to separate the groups. Suffragists repaired and reinforced some barricades using bamboo and concrete. Protesters again claimed that the attacks were organised and involved triad groups. Police made three arrests for assault and possession of weapons. Although police cautioned against reinforcing the existing obstacles or setting up new obstacles to enlarge the occupied area, suffragists later reinstated the barriers overnight.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Clearance actions
Anti -occupy protesters began to besiege the headquarters of Next Media, publisher of Apple Daily. They accused the paper of biased reporting. Masked men among the protesters prevented the loading of copies of Apple Daily as well as The New York Times onto delivery vans. Apple Daily sought a court injunction and a High Court judge issued a temporary order to prevent any blocking of the entrance. Five press unions made a statement condemning the harassment of journalists by anti-occupy protesters.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Clearance actions
In the early morning of 14 October, police conducted a dawn raid to dismantle barricades in Yee Wo Street (Causeway Bay site), opening one lane to westbound traffic. They also dismantled barricades at Queensway, Admiralty, and reopened it to traffic.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Clearance actions
Before midnight on 15 October, protesters stopped traffic on Lung Wo Road, the arterial road north of the Central Government Complex at Admiralty, and began erecting barricades. The police were unable to hold their cordon at Lung Wo Road Tunnel and had to retreat for reinforcements and to regroup. Around 3 am, police began to clear the road using batons and pepper spray. By dawn, traffic on the road resumed and the protesters retreated into Tamar Park, while 45 arrests were made.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Police assault Ken Tsang
Local television channel TVB broadcast footage of Civic Party member Ken Tsang being assaulted by police. He was carried off with his hands tied behind his back; then, while one officer kept watch, a group of about six officers punched, kicked and stamped on him for about four minutes. Journalists complained that they too had been assaulted. The video provoked outrage; Amnesty International joined others in calling for the officers to be prosecuted. In response, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said that "the officers involved will be temporarily removed from their current duties." They were convicted and jailed in 2017 and Tsang commenced a claim for damages against the Commissioner of Police.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Police assault Ken Tsang
At 5 am on 17 October, police cleared the barricades and tents at the Mong Kok site and opened the northbound side of Nathan Road to traffic for the first time in three weeks. In the early evening, at least 9000 protesters tried to retake the northbound lanes of the road. The police claimed that 15 officers sustained injuries. There were at least 26 arrests, including photojournalist Paula Bronstein. Around midnight, the police retreated and the suffragists re-erected barricades across the road.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Police assault Ken Tsang
On Sunday, 19 October, police used pepper spray and riot gear to contain the protesters in Mong Kok. Martin Lee, who was at the scene, said that "triad elements" had initiated scuffles with police "for reasons best known to themselves". The police had arrested 37 protesters that weekend; the government said that nearly 70 people had been injured. At night, two pro-democracy lawmakers, Fernando Cheung and Claudia Mo, appeared at Mong Kok to mediate between the suffragists and the police, leading to a lowering of tensions as the police and suffragists each stepped back and widened the buffer zone. No clashes were reported for the night.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Police assault Ken Tsang
On 20 October, a taxi drivers' union and the owner of CITIC Tower were granted a court injunction against the occupiers of sections of several roads. In his first interview to international journalists since the start of the protests, CY Leung said that Hong Kong had been "lucky" that Beijing had not yet intervened in the protests, and repeated Chinese claims that "foreign forces" were involved. He defended Beijing's stance on screening candidates.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Police assault Ken Tsang
He said that open elections would result in pressure on candidates to create a welfare state, arguing that "If it's entirely a numbers game – numeric representation – then obviously you'd be talking to half the people in Hong Kong [that] earn less than US$1,800 a month [the median wage in HK]. You would end up with that kind of politics and policies." A SCMP comment by columnist Alex Lo said of this interview: "Leung has set the gold standard on how not to do a media interview for generations of politicians to come."


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 21 October, the government and the HKFS held the first round of talks in a televised open debate. HKFS secretary-general Alex Chow, vice secretary Lester Shum, general secretary Eason Chung, and standing members Nathan Law and Yvonne Leung met with Hong Kong Government representatives Chief secretary Carrie Lam, secretary of justice Rimsky Yuen, undersecretary Raymond Tam, office director Edward Yau and undersecretary Lau Kong-wah. The discussion was moderated by Leonard Cheng, the president of Lingnan University.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
During the talks, government representatives suggested the possibility of writing a new report on the students' concerns to supplement the government's last report on political reform to Beijing, but stressed that civil nomination, as proposed by the students, fell outside the framework of the Basic Law and the NPCSC decision, which could be withdrawn. The government described the talks as "candid and meaningful" in a press release, while the students expressed their disappointment at the lack of concrete results.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 22 October about 200 demonstrators marched to Government House, the official residence of the Chief Executive, in protest at his statement to journalists on 20 October about the need to deny political rights to the poor in Hong Kong. At Mong Kok, members of the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association and a coalition of truck drivers attempted to enforce the court injunction granted two days earlier to remove barricades and clear the street. They were accompanied by their lawyer, who read out the court order to the demonstrators. Fist fights broke out during the afternoon and evening.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 23 October, a massive yellow vertical protest banner which read (in Chinese) "I want real universal suffrage" was hung on Lion Rock, the iconic hill that overlooks the Kowloon Peninsula and is seen to represent the spirit of Hong Kong. The vertical protest banner was removed the following day.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 25 October, a group of anti-Occupy supporters wearing blue ribbons gathered at Tsim Sha Tsui to show their support of the police. Four journalists from RTHK and TVB tried to interview them and were attacked. The police escorted the journalists away. A female reporter for RTHK, a male reporter and two photographers for TVB were taken to hospital. A group of about 10 men wearing facemasks attacked suffragists in Mong Kok. Six people were arrested for common assault.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
Alex Chow said that citizens deserved a chance to express their views over the constitutional reform proposal and the NPCSC's decision of 31 August. He said that the protest would only end if the government offered a detailed timeline or roadmap to allow universal suffrage and withdrawal of the standing committee decision.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 28 October, the HKFS issued an open letter to Chief Secretary Carrie Lam asking for a second round of talks. HKFS set out a prerequisite for the negotiation, that the government's report to the Chinese government must include a call for the retraction of the NPCSC's decision. The HKFS demanded direct talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang should the Hong Kong Government feel it could not fulfil this and other terms. The 30th day since the police fired tear gas was marked at 5.57 pm exactly, with 87 seconds of silence, one for each tear gas canister that was fired.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, October 2014, Televised debate
On 29 October, after James Tien of the pro-Beijing Liberal Party urged Leung to consider resigning in a public interview on 24 October, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Standing Committee convened to discuss Tien's removal from the body as a move to whip the pro-establishment camp into supporting Leung and the country. Tien, a long-time critic of Leung, said that Leung's position was no longer tenable as Hong Kong people no longer trusted his administration, and that his hanging onto office would only exacerbate the divisions in society. Tien stepped down from his position as the leader of the Liberal Party after the removal. Lester Shum refused bail extension based on conditions imposed after his arrest on 26 September, and was released unconditionally by police. That day was also the day of the Umbrella Ultra Marathon event.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
The anti-Occupy group Alliance for Peace and Democracy had run a petition throughout the end of October to the start of November, and at the end of their campaign claimed to have collected over 1.8 million signatures demanding the return of streets occupied by the protesters and restoration of law and order. Each signator are required to show a valid Hong Kong ID card and the final result is checked and verified to make sure there is no multiple voting by the same individual. The group's previous signature collection has been criticised as "lack of credibility" by its opponents.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
The High Court extended injunctions on 10 November that had been granted to taxi, mini-bus and bus operators authorising the clearance of protest sites. On the following day, Carrie Lam told reporters that there would be no further dialogue with protesters. She warned that "the police will give full assistance, including making arrests where necessary" in the clearance of the sites, and advised the protesters to leave "voluntarily and peacefully".


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
However, the granting of the court order and the conditions attached to its execution attracted controversy as some lawyers and a top judge questioned why the order was granted based on an ex parte hearing, the urgency of the matter, and the use of the police when the order was for a civil complaint.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
On 10 November, around 1,000 pro-democracy demonstrators, many wearing yellow ribbons and carrying yellow umbrellas, marched to the PRC Liaison Office in Sai Wan to protest the arrests of people expressing support for the protest. The marchers included Alex Chow, who announced that the Federation of Students were writing to the 35 local delegates to the National People's Congress to enlist their help in setting up talks with Beijing.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
On 30 October Chow and other student leaders had announced that they were considering plans to take their protest to the APEC summit to be held in Beijing on 10 and 11 November. As observers had predicted, the student delegation led by Chow was prevented from travelling to China when they attempted to leave on 15 November. Airline officials informed them that mainland authorities had revoked their Home Return Permits, effectively banning them from boarding the flight to speak to government officials in Beijing.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
On 12 November, media tycoon Jimmy Lai was the target of an offal attack at the Admiralty site by three men, who were detained by volunteer marshalls for the protest site. Both the attackers and the two site marshalls who restrained them were arrested by the police, which led to condemnation by the pan-democracy camp, who organised an unauthorised protest march the next day. The two marshalls from the protest site were later released on bail.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
On the morning of 18 November, in compliance with a court injunction, suffragists pre-emptively moved their tents and other affairs that were blocking access to Citic Tower, avoiding confrontation with bailiffs and the police over the removal of barricades.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
In the early hours of 19 November, protesters broke into a side-entrance to the Legislative Council Complex, breaking glass panels with concrete tiles and metal barricades. Legislator Fernando Cheung and other suffragists tried to stop the radical activists, but were pushed aside. The break-in, which according to The Standard was instigated by Civic Passion, was "strongly" condemned by Occupy Central for Love and Peace, and legislators from both the pan-democracy and pro-Beijing camps.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
On 21 November, up to 100 people gathered outside the British consulate accusing the former colonial power of failing to pressure China to grant free elections in the city and protect freedoms guaranteed in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
Amidst declining support for the occupation, bailiffs and police cleared the tents and barriers in the most volatile of the three Occupy sites, Mong Kok, on 25 and early 26 November. Suffragists poured into Mong Kok after the first day's clearance, and there was a stand-off between protesters and police the next day. Scuffles were reported, and pepper spray was used. Police detained 116 people during the clearance, including student leaders Joshua Wong and Lester Shum. Joshua Wong, Lester Shum and some 30 of those arrested were bailed but subject to an exclusion zone centred around Mong Kok station.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
Mong Kok remained the centre of focus for several days after the clearance of the occupied area, with members of the public angry about heavy-handed policing. Fearing re-occupation, in excess of 4,000 police were deployed to the area. Large crowds, ostensibly heeding a call from C. Y. Leung to return to the shops affected by the occupation, appeared nightly in and around Sai Yeung Choi Street South (close to the former occupied site); hundreds of armed riot police charged demonstrators with shields, pepper spraying and wrestling them to the ground. Protesters intent on "Gau Wu" (shopping) remained until dawn.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, November 2014
Overnight on 30 November, there were violent clashes between police and protesters in Admiralty after the Federation of Students and Scholarism called upon the crowd to surround the Central Government Offices. The police used a hose to splash protesters for the first time. The entrance to the Admiralty Centre was also blocked. Most of the violence occurred near Admiralty MTR station. Also, Joshua Wong and two other Scholarism members began an indefinite hunger strike.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, December 2014
On 3 December, the OCLP trio, along with 62 others, including lawmaker Wu Chi-wai and Cardinal Joseph Zen, turned themselves in to the police to bear the legal consequences of civil disobedience. However, they were set free without being arrested or charged. They also urged occupiers to leave and transform the movement into a community campaign, citing concerns for their safety amidst the police's escalation of force in recent crackdowns. Nonetheless, HKFS and Scholarism both continued the occupation. Nightly "Gau Wu" tours continued in Mong Kok for over a week after the clearance of the occupation site, tying up some 2500 police officers. The minibus company that took out the Mong Kok injunction was in turn accused of having illegally occupied Tung Choi Street for years.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, December 2014
On the morning of 11 December, many protesters left the Admiralty site before crews of the bus company that had applied for the Admiralty injunction dismantled roadblocks without resistance. Afterwards, the police set a deadline for protesters to leave the occupied areas and cordoned off the zone for the remainder of the day. 209 protesters declined to leave and were arrested, including several pan-democratic legislators and members of HKFS and Scholarism. Meanwhile, the police set the bridge access to Citic Tower and Central Government Office only allowing media to access. The Independent Police Complaints Council was present to monitor the area for any "excessive use of force" along with fifty professors.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Events, December 2014
On 15 December, police cleared protesters and their camps at Causeway Bay with essentially no resistance, bringing the protests to an end.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
Surface traffic between Central and Admiralty, Causeway Bay, as well as in Mong Kok, was seriously affected by the blockades, with traffic jams stretching for miles on Hong Kong Island and across Victoria Harbour. Major tailbacks were reported on Queensway, Gloucester Road and Connaught Road, which are feeder roads to the blockaded route in Admiralty. With in excess of 100 bus or tram routes suspended or re-routed, queues for underground trains in the Admiralty district spilled onto the street at times.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
The MTR, the city's underground transport operator, was a beneficiary, enjoying a 20 per cent increase in passenger trips recorded on two of its lines. Others have opted to walk instead of driving. Taxi drivers reported a fall in income as they had to advise passengers to use the MTR when faced with jams, diversions or blockaded roads. Hong Kong Taxi Owners' Association claimed its members' incomes had declined by 30 per cent since the protests started. Levels of PM2.5 particulate matter at the three sites declined to within the recommended safety levels of the World Health Organization.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
An editorial in the South China Morning Post noted that, on 29 September, the air quality in all three of the occupied areas had markedly improved. The health risk posed by airborne pollutants was "low" – it was usually "high" – and there was a steep fall in the concentration of NO2. It said: "without a policy shift, after the demonstrations have ended, we will have to rely on our memories of the protest days for what clean vehicles on our roads mean for air quality".


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
Nursery, primary and secondary schools within the Central and Western catchment areas were suspended from 29 September onwards. Classes for 25,000 primary students and 30,000 secondary students resumed on 7 October. Kindergartens and nursery schools resumed operations on 9 October, adding to the traffic burden. The Hong Kong Retail Management Association reported that chain stores takings declined between 30 and 45 per cent during the period 1–5 October in Admiralty, Central and Causeway Bay. The media reported that some shops and banks in the protest areas were shuttered.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
According to the World Bank, the protests were damaging Hong Kong's economy while China remained largely unaffected. Although the Hang Seng Index fell by 2.59% during the "Golden Week", it recovered and trading volume rose considerably. Shanghai Daily published on 4 October estimated that the protests had cost Hong Kong HK$40 billion ($5.2 billion), with tourism and retail reportedly being hardest hit. However, tourist numbers for the "Golden Week" (beginning 1 October) were 4.83% higher than the previous year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on business and transport
While substantial losses by retailer were predicted, some stores reported a marked increase in sales. Triad gangs, which had reportedly suffered a 40% decline in revenues, were implicated in the attacks in Mong Kok, where some of the worst violence had occurred. Economic effects seemed either to be extremely localised or transient, and in any event much less than the dire predictions of business lobbies. One of the hardest hit may have been the Hong Kong Tramways Company, which reported a decline in revenues of US$1 million. An economist said that the future stability will depend on political governance, namely if political issues such as income gaps and political reforms will be addressed.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on Hong Kong society
The protests have caused strong differences of opinion in Hong Kong society, with a "yellow (pro-occupy) vs. blue (anti-occupy)" war being fought, and unfriending on social media, such as Facebook. The media have reported conflict within peer groups over values or what positions may be orthodox, and rifts have formed between mentor–mentees over the extent to which the movement should go. Parents have rowed with their children over their attending protests. Hong Kong people who oppose the Occupy protests do so for a number of different reasons.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on Hong Kong society
A significant part of the population, refugees from Communist China in the 1950s and 1960s, lived through the turmoil of the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist riots. Others feel that the protesters are too idealistic, and fear upsetting the PRC leadership and the possibility of another repeat of the crackdown that ended the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. However, the overwhelming reason is the disruption to the lives of ordinary citizens caused by roads blocked, traffic jams, school closures, and financial loss to businesses (including in particular those run by the Triads in Mong Kok).


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on Hong Kong society
According to some reports, the police actions on the protesters has resulted in a breakdown of citizens' trust in the previously respected police force. The police deny accusations that they failed to act diligently. The media have reported on individuals who have quit their jobs, or students abroad who have rushed home to become a part of history, and one protester saw this as "the best and last opportunity for Hong Kong people's voices to be heard, as Beijing's influence grows increasingly stronger". Police officers have been working 18-hour shifts to the detriment of their family lives.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on Hong Kong society
Front line police officers, in addition to working long hours, being attacked and abused on the streets, are under unprecedented stress at home. Psychologists working with police officers in the field report that some felt humiliated as they may have been unfriended on Facebook, and family may blame them for their perceived roles in suppressing the protests. Although the media has often dubbed it "Asia's Finest", the reputation of the police has taken a serious drubbing following the heavy-handed treatment of protesters, as well as police brutality captured on camera and made viral. Andy Tsang, the police commissioner appointed in 2011, is held responsible for the procedural escalation of police violence in the face of protesters, through deployment of riot police and 87 instances in which tear gas was released; dispersal of unarmed students also caused disquiet among senior police staffers.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Impact, Effects on Hong Kong society
In an opinion poll of Hong Kong citizens carried out since 4 October by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 59% of the 850 people surveyed supported the protesters in their refusal to accept the government plan for the 2017 election. 29% of those questioned, the largest proportion, blamed the violence that had occurred during the demonstrations on the chief Executive CY Leung.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Triad involvement and counterprotester recruitment allegations
The BBC showed video footage from a Hong Kong TV network which appeared to show 'anti-Occupy protesters' being hired and transported to an Occupy protest site. The 'protesters', many of whom were initially unaware of what they were being paid to do, were secretly filmed on the bus being handed money by the organiser. Anonymous police sources informed the BBC Newsnight investigation that "back-up was strangely unforthcoming" to scenes of violence. The South China Morning Post also reported claims that people from poor districts were being offered up to HK$800 per day, via WhatsApp messaging, to participate in anti-Occupy riots.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Triad involvement and counterprotester recruitment allegations
The Hong Kong police has stated that up to 200 gangsters from two major triads may have infiltrated the camps of Occupy Central supporters, although their exact motives are as yet unknown. A police officer explained the police could not arrest the triad gangsters there "if they do nothing more than singing songs for democracy".


2014 Hong Kong protests, Triad involvement and counterprotester recruitment allegations
A 2013 editorial in the Taipei Times of Taiwan described the pro-Beijing "grass-roots" organisations in Hong Kong: "Since Leung has been in office, three organizations – Voice of Loving Hong Kong, Caring Hong Kong Power and the Hong Kong Youth Care Association – have appeared on the scene and have been playing the role of Leung's hired "thugs", using Cultural Revolution-style language and methods to oppose Hong Kong's pan-democratic parties and groups." Both Apple Daily and the Taiwan Central News Agency, as well as some pan-democrat legislators in Hong Kong, have named the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Public Security as being responsible for the attacks.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Triad involvement and counterprotester recruitment allegations
Legislative Council member James To alleged that "The police is happy to let the triad elements to threaten the students, at least for several hours, to see whether they would disperse or not." He added, "Someone, with political motive, is utilising the triad to clear the crowd, so as to help the government to advance their cause." Amnesty International condemned the police for "[failing] in their duty to protect protesters from attacks" and stating that women were attacked, threatened, and sexually assaulted while police watched and did nothing.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Triad involvement and counterprotester recruitment allegations
Commander Paul Edmiston of the police admitted officers had been working long hours and had received heavy criticism. Responding to accusations that police chose not to protect the protesters, he said: "No matter what we do, we're criticized for doing too little or too much. We can't win." An analysis in Harbour Times suggested that businesses that pay protection money to Triads in the neighbourhood stood to be affected by an occupation. The journal criticised police response as being at first disorganised and slow onto the scene, but observed that its handling was within operating norms in triad-heavy neighbourhoods although it was affected by low levels of mutual trust, suspicion.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
Many of Hong Kong's media outlets are owned by local tycoons who have significant business ties in the mainland, so they all adopt self-censorship at some level and have mostly maintained a conservative editorial line in their coverage of the protests. Next Media, being Hong Kong's only openly pro-democracy media conglomerate, has been the target of blockades by anti-Occupy protesters, cyberattacks, and hijacks of their delivery trucks.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
The uneven spread of viewpoints on traditional media has turned young people to social media for news, which The Guardian has described as making the protests "the best-documented social movement in history, with even its quieter moments generating a maelstrom of status updates, shares and likes." People at protest sites now rely on alternative media whose launches were propelled by the protests, also called "umbrella revolution", or actively covered news from a perspective not found in traditional journals. Even the recently defunct House News resurrected itself, reformatted as The House News Bloggers. Radical viewpoints are catered for at Hong Kong Peanut, and Passion Times – run by Civic Passion.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
The prominent local station, TVB, originally broadcast footage of police officers beating a protester on 15 October, but the station experienced internal conflict during the broadcast. The pre-dawn broadcasts soundtrack mentioning "punching and kicking" was re-recorded to say that the officers were "suspected of using excessive force". Secret audio recordings from an internal meeting were uploaded onto YouTube that included the voice of TVB director Keith Yuen Chi-wai asking "On what grounds can we say officers dragged him to a dark corner, and punched and kicked him?"


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
The protester was later named as Civic Party member Ken Tsang, who was also a member of the Election Committee that returned CY Leung as the city's Chief Executive. About 57 journalists expressed their dissatisfaction with the handling of the broadcast. A petition by TVB staff to management protesting the handling of the event was signed by news staff. The list grew to 80+ people including employees from sports, economics and other departments.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
In 2015, the video, entitled "Suspected Police Brutality Against Occupy Central Movement's Protester", was declared the Best TV news item at the 55th Monte Carlo TV Festival; it was praised for its "comprehensive, objective and professional" report. It also won a prize at the Edward E. Murrow Awards in the Hard News category.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Local media coverage
Internet security firm CloudFlare said that, like for the attacks on PopVote sponsored by OCLP earlier in the year, the volume of junk traffic aimed at paralysing Apple Daily servers was an unprecedented 500Gbit/s and involved at least five botnets. Servers were bombarded with in excess of 250 million DNS requests per second, equivalent to the average volume of DNS requests for the entire Internet. And where the attacks do not succeed directly, they have caused some internet service providers to pre-emptively block such sites under attack to protect their own servers and lines.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Chinese government and media
Beijing is generally reported as being concerned about similar popular demands for political reform on the mainland that would erode the Communist Party's hold on power. Reuters sources revealed that the decision to offer no concessions was made at a meeting of the National Security Commission of the Communist Party of China chaired by General secretary Xi Jinping in the first week of October. "[ We] move back one step and the dam will burst," a source was reported as saying, referring to mainland provinces such as Xinjiang and Tibet making similar demands for democratic elections.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Chinese government and media
The New York Times China correspondents say that the strategy for dealing with the crisis in Hong Kong was being planned under supervision from the top-tier national leadership, which was being briefed on a daily basis. According to the report, Hong Kong officials are in meetings behind the scenes with mainland officials in neighbouring Shenzhen, at a resort owned by the central government liaison office. Beijing's direct involvement was confirmed subsequently by pro-establishment figures in Hong Kong. The HKFS, which had been hoping to send a delegation to meet with the leadership in Beijing, was rebuffed by Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the NPC, whom they asked to help set up the meetings.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Chinese government and media
Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping stated his support for CY Leung on the 44th day of the occupation, saying the occupation was a "direct challenge not just to the SAR and its governance but also to Beijing". Xi also said that Leung's administration must govern to safeguard the rule of law and maintain social order.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Chinese government and media, Censorship
On 28 September it emerged that Chinese government authorities had issued the following censorship directive: "All websites must immediately clear away information about Hong Kong students violently assaulting the government and about 'Occupy Central.' Promptly report any issues. Strictly manage interactive channels, and resolutely delete harmful information. This [directive] must be followed precisely." Censors rapidly deleted messages internet posts with words such as "Hong Kong," "barricades", "Occupy Central" and "umbrella". Sections of the CNN reporting from Hong Kong was also disrupted.


2014 Hong Kong protests, Chinese government and media, Censorship
Most Chinese newspapers have not covered the protests except for editorials critical of the protests and devoid of any context, or articles mentioning the negative impact of the occupation. The Chinese website of the BBC was completely blocked after a video showing the violent assault on a protester by police on 15 October hosted on the site went viral. Amnesty International reported that dozens of Chinese people have been arrested for showing support for the protests.