For how much longer will we see images like these? Hong Kong's crisis has always been an existential one, but it's reached a critical tipping point. I chatted with protesters who gathered in Causeway Bay before the tear gas hit. Here's what they said: https://twitter.com/cityusucbc/status/1264437477164474369

I've got countless quotes over the years from ppl explaining they must come out to march while they can, that they can only defend their freedoms by exercising them. Many today said the same, & they're taking things "one step at a time" knowing their city will forever be changed.

A young woman said she'd regret it if she didn't join the fight today because the cost of demonstrating or simply joining a rally could be unbearable after the security laws are enacted.

With the space to protest and speak out rapidly shrinking, some saw today as a dire occasion to appeal for international help. Others weren't holding their breath or harboring any hope that the international community would protect Hong Kong.

Asked what they thought of the “laam caau” strategy today, none regretted it. (It essentially captures the sentiment of “if we burn, you burn with us.”)

Defending the tactic, a young man said he believed Hong Kong would die sooner or later anyway, so to him it's about going down with a fight & maybe kill what's valuable to the authorities along the way (e.g. the advantages the city brings to China).

Not far from the tear gas, I saw a mother pushing a stroller with a protest poster wrapped around her baby like a bib.

Someone I'd interviewed before called me out of the blue just to say she saw an elderly woman holding a walking stick and shaking. She asked her to leave the area because it's getting dangerous, but the woman replied, I'm here to march. I'm doing what I can for Hong Kong.