Hong Kong • Hong Kong residents Friday night formed human chains across large parts of the city in a call for direct elections, a test of the continuing strength of the months-long protest movement and a display that recalled a major anti-Soviet demonstration 30 years ago.
Participants fanned out across three routes over densely populated sections of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Organizers said on Saturday that more than 210,000 people had participated, covering a total of about 35 miles.
The plans developed online after a march Sunday drew hundreds of thousands who demonstrated in the rain, a sign that protesters had not been dissuaded by a police ban or warnings from the Chinese government.