A Generation With No Future Erupts in Hong Kong Protests

Billy Tung, a 28-year-old accountant, lives on Hong Kong Island in a tiny room in an apartment that’s been partitioned to accommodate six renters. His bosses expect him to work most Saturdays and Sundays, but recently he’s had another weekend activity: taking to the streets to join thousands of other Hong Kongers in protests. The demonstrations were triggered by a government proposal that would allow China to extradite those accused of crimes but have since morphed to include a broader set of demands, including the right for universal suffrage.

The protests have swamped the streets of this former British colony since June, intensifying as the long, hot summer drags on, with police frequently using tear gas and rubber bullets to clear demonstrators who’ve turned to violence at times to demand that Chief Executive Carrie Lam formally withdraw the legislation. “Citizens are willing to sacrifice the economy to fight,” says Tung, who represents a generation for whom home ownership is increasingly out of reach. Hong Kong has had the world’s least affordable real estate for nine years in a row. Property developers wield enormous market power, controlling everything from power utilities to mobile phone carriers.