Pro-democracy protesters took to the streets Tuesday in a growing confrontation with China over the financial hub's future as either an enclave of freedom or another communist-controlled city.

Protest leaders set a Wednesday deadline for a response from the government to their demands for reforms and said they would soon announce new civil disobedience plans.

Some protesters are already labeling the movement "the umbrella revolution" for the umbrellas many are holding to deflect pepper spray and tear gas that was lobbed by police on Sunday night.

That fueled even more protesters to come out in force Monday. Tens of thousands of young demonstrators blocked what are normally some of Hong Kong's busiest streets.

"It's the 'umbrella revolution,'" said Emily Pang, 24, a cricket club receptionist who planned to stay overnight in the streets beside one of many barricades. "I have to protect our Hong Kong," she said.

The protest was sparked by anger over China's refusal to allow the open selection of candidates for Hong Kong's leader, called the chief executive, in the city's first democratic election scheduled for 2017. Instead, a panel will pick two or three candidates to run.

At stake is not just the election but the future of the former British colony as a semiautonomous city and the prospect of the pro-democracy movement spreading to the mainland.

"This is anything but a flash in the pan," said Scott Harold, a political scientist at RAND Corp. Beijing wants to crack down on the protests so that Hong Kong's political freedoms don't "infect" the rest of the country, he said.

We need to start blocking Chinese ships at the port now, in solidarity.

They will be like sitting ducks.

The CIA taking revenge on China for not supporting CIA Military Invasion of Syria, using CIA Spook Shops set up to look like Pro Democracy Protest, even if The CIA is anything but Pro Democracy (CIA backs Fascist Juntas Worldwide including The Post 9-11 Junta in The US, which began with The CIA's All CIA Duh 9-11 Attacks) hoping to replace The Chinese Government with a CIA backed Junta in China. That'll go over well. Hasn't The CIA tried that in Russia before? A little side note. The CIA was totally Hostile to The Scottish Independence drive.

This is probably mostly anti-Beijing capitalists running this thing.

CIA maybe wants to help out, huh?

I haven't seen the OTPOR fist there, yet.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-openly-approves-hong-kong-chaos-it-created/5405387