In September 2014 Hong Kong was gripped by a Civil protest. Main streets were blocked by demonstrators for months, including the Central business district. The demonstrators seemed to be regular citizens. Students worked from the demonstration sites using ingeniously constructed desks. At lunch times office staff from offices in the Financial centres came down to eat their lunch. Some pitched tents and slept or even lived at the sites. Even jury rigged showers were erected. The demonstrations were mostly peaceful but some protests, mainly on Kowloon side, were extremely violent and riot police were required to enforce Law. Regular demonstrators and Hong Kong citizens were appalled by the violence. The Hong Kong authorites were remarkably patient with the Central demonstration. Police set up cordons. Traffic was diverted around the blocked district. This caused tremendous inconvenience and disruption. Eventually, in December, a surprising number of months, the police cleared the central blockades. The name 'Umrella Movement' derives from Yellow umbrella's that were used by protestors during some of the earlier largest demonstrations.
