This archive report was first published on 10 September 2019.
Since the start of the new academic year, Hong Kong's secondary schools have become a focal point for pro-democracy protests, with thousands of students participating in human chain rallies.
On September 10, 2019, AFP reported that students in Hong Kong's Yau Ma Tei district formed a human chain, linking hands in a daily ritual that has become a symbol of support for the pro-democracy movement.
According to AFP, Tam, a 16-year-old student, was outside his school in Hong Kong's Yau Ma Tei district, where he and dozens of classmates linked hands in a human chain demonstration.
"Hong Kong students are known for being hardworking and having lots of homework, but we still choose to stand out today," Tam told AFP, asking not to use his full name.
"Even if we do not have any power as a student, we can actually stand out to form this chain to speak out our demands," he added.
Millions have taken to Hong Kong's streets over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997.
The movement, primarily youth-led, has seen school children and students join the protests, with many finding ways to keep their protests going even as they attend classes.
Each morning, it is not uncommon to see rows of youngsters in uniforms standing outside their schools, shouting slogans like "Reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times" and "Free Hong Kong".
Class boycotts have also been organised by some in schools and universities, with students singing protest anthems and creating "Lennon Walls" plastered with sticky notes inside their classrooms.
Despite the Education Bureau's guidelines, student groups have set a deadline of late Friday for their remaining demands to be met, including an inquiry into the police, an amnesty for those arrested, retraction of the term "riot" to describe protests, and universal suffrage.
