"Over the weekend, defiant young activists in Hong Kong demonstrated their capacity to look after themselves in the campus of Polytechnic University. I was there, and witnessed how the students worked together to build brick barricades, took over the canteen to feed hundreds and set up first-aid stations. This all amid a heavy police presence, and occasional volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. Then, on Sunday night, the police laid siege to the campus, saying everyone inside would be arrested for rioting – a serious offence punishable by 10 years in prison. The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has been in force since the summer, but the renewed anger is in response to the tragic death on 8 November of Chow Tsz-lok, a 22-year-old computer science student who fell from a car park during chaotic confrontations with the police. The government continues to refuse permission for mass peaceful protests. It is adding fuel to the fire Many protesters hold the police responsible. They called for a city-wide general strike on 11 November. Students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Polytechnic blocked major roads for days before moving to the universities, which until recently were considered safe ground for protesters. But the police have been ruthless, employing lethal tactics including the use of live ammunition. At the same time, the government seems to be in no hurry to restore “order” to the city’s infrastructure or to unblock the occupied roads. It’s hardly a coincidence, I think, that this relative inaction is happening before the district council elections this Sunday, which many were planning to use as a referendum on the government itself. Pro-democracy candidates are looking to make gains over the pro-establishment camp. The Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, has hinted that the government could delay the elections because of the protests. This is deeply worrying given the already dire state of political freedoms in Hong Kong..."