The Essential Tool for Hong Kong Protesters? An UmbrellaPhoto: Demonstrators hold umbrellas at Victo

The Essential Tool for Hong Kong Protesters? An Umbrella
Photo: Demonstrators hold umbrellas at Victoria Park, Aug. 18. Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg

In Hong Kong, umbrellas are more than just protection from rain or glaring sunshine. They have become tools for expression, privacy and self-defense—and that’s made them a staple of the anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the city over the past three months.

The humble brolly has been a symbol of resistance in Hong Kong since 2014, when the city’s pro-democracy protests became known as the Umbrella Movement. Now, Hong Kong’s police force has labeled umbrellas as weapons, and Chinese e-commerce sites like Taobao and AliExpress no longer sell them to customers in Hong Kong.

“I tried to purchase umbrellas and I just can’t” on those platforms, said Kelvin Yeung, a 22-year-old university student who has participated in about half of the marches this summer. “I cannot put it into my basket if the destination is Hong Kong.”

Over the past 100-plus days, protesters have demonstrated dozens of ways to use umbrellas that have nothing to do with rain. Here are just a handful of examples, as well as what some protesters have to say about them. Many declined to give their full name for fear of punishment, and none are pictured.

Source:Bloomberg