on july 1st, 2014, the 17th anniversary of hong kong's return to china after british rule, a pro-democracy protest was held involving about 500,000

people. ten days earlier, residents had voted in an unofficial referendum calling for democratic elections when selecting hong kong's chief executive. with roughly 700,000 votes, the referendum was a success. the leader of this movement is associate law professor denny tang. >> i think hong kong people has clearly made our will known.

>> but the voices of the hong kong people were ignored and citizens announced they would protest once more on october 1st. we followed the events leading up to that day. this time, we began filming on september 24. a rumor was spreading online that pro-democracy protesters were going to occupy central hong kong and that it could develop into a violent rally.

what triggered recent events was beijing's announcement for a new system for electing hong kong's chief executive. until now, the chief executive was selected by an election board consisting of 1,200 people. the law will be changed to enable all eligible voters over the age of 18 to vote directly. however, from now on, candidates will be put forward by a nominating committee. this committee is expected to be selected from various sectors seeking deeper ties to beijing. three months earlier, an unofficial referendum was organized by activist leader teng. upon hearing of the revision to the election laws, he immediately held a press

conference and shaved his head showing his determination to oppose this law. >> ting and his supporters plan to occupy central, hong kong's main financial district. october 1st is the anniversary of china's founding and is also part of a long weekend. although it will be the biggest rally yet, they want to minimize the economic damage caused. ting's true objective is to raise awareness among residents ahead of what he believes will

be a prolonged fight for democracy. ting is not the only pro-dempsey activist. at the tender age of 17, joshua wong boldly expresses his objections to the government. three years ago, he and his friends launched a student organization for young people under the age of 18 to promote pro-democracy activism called scholarism.

wong and his friends first became politically active when objecting to the patriotic education introduced into hong kong schools. through their activities, they examined china's relations with hong kong and decided to devote themselves to the pro-democracy movement.

>> wong urges secondary school juniors to boycott classes on september 26 when he plans to hold a rally in front of parliament. this square is where wong first demonstrated against patriotic education. it is currently cordoned off. this is where the start of a new struggle for hong kong will begin. it's 9:00 a.m. at admiralty station, the closest station to parliament. secondary school juniors from all over hong kong have gathered here to take part in the rally. they wear yellow ribbons to show solidarity with pro-democracy activists. some schools have banned students from participating, while others have discouraged

them from wearing the ribbons. mo than 1,500 students have shown up. it was their own decisn to participate and they have apparently obtained their parents' consent.

>> the rally takes place over six hours from 10:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. lectures by university professors and media personnel are held with breaks in between. at 7:00 p.m. very close to the pro-democracy rally, another mass rally is held by pro-beijing activists.

>> in the square in front of parliament, matters take a serious turn around 10:00 p.m. pro-democracy secondary school seniors and university students begin crawling over fences set up by police forces around the park.

this prompts the police to enter the square.ents as they roughly 15 students are arrested amidst this confusion. students in front of the fence who had formed circles to protect themselves become agitated. news of student leader wong's arrest has come to light with their leader arrested, oscar lie, involved with

scholarism since ipts fouts fon steps in. he calls for protesters to build a human barricade so protesters will not be removed. the plan is to stop the police from closing in on protesters.

>> once morning comes, citizens and reporters will arrive making it difficult for the police to take action. meanwhile, the police try to break through the human barricade using pepper spray. together, students raise their hands over their heads to prove their protest is peaceful. they try to push the police away using only their torsos. although the faces of some students are sprayed, none are

seriously wounded. police and protesters clash around the square and in nearby streets. soon the area is completely taken over by students. exhausted, many of the youngsters lie down. the sun rises as students and police continue to stand off against each other. in the early morning, the overpass quickly fills with reporters and citizens who have

heard about the news. protesters use umbrellas and plastic food wrap to protect themselves foreign policy pepper spr spray. thus the rally is later named the umbrella revolution. as students wake up, small clashes with police resume. not knowing what to expect, some young protesters are looking concern concerned. just after noon, we hear that all students have left the squa square. throughout the night, the police had apparently spoken to each

student individually. >> the student sit-in was held before the october 1st rally proposed by benny ting. when he hears of the situation, he rushes to the site where he is met with criticism.

>> there is no going back for ting and the students. a tent set up by the students.

it is quickly filled with donations from citizens. water, snacks, umbrellas and food wrap are distributed to the activists. amidst the excitement, youngsters can be heard chatting and at times sharing a laugh. they have lost the square but most have stayed. around 1:00 a.m., ting makes an appearance on a makeshift stage.

>> attending the event is lee cheuk-yan. a survivor of the tiananmen square incident.

>> it's been nearly 30 hours since the occupation began. roughly 7,000 police were brought in to deal with the rally. despite the efforts of the students, the occupation area has been barricaded. the following morning admiralty station is full to the brim with citize citizens. residents head straight to the rally site as police watch on.

rallies by various pro-democracy groups are being held all over town. soon swarms of people surround the barricades. the rally gradually spreads out to the major roads. residents of all ages and walks of life have joined to express themselves. the movement that began with students has attracted the attention of the world.

>> the rally has become an unstoppable force. one man has been critical of the occupy central movement and is demanding that they stop. chow yung is a former announcer for hong kong's state run broadcasting agency. he now works as a journalist.

>> it's 7:00 p.m. the police are putting on gas mas masks. they want to clear the area. teargas grenades are launched dispersing the crowds. this offensive is carried out several times.

but protesters continue to push themselves towards the barricades, raising their hands in a show of non-violence. these scenes are broadcast worldwide with more and more hong kong residents taking part. eventually growing to over 100,000 people the night of september 30th. someone addresses the crowd. it is wong. he has been released from detention.

>> just one kilometer from the rally, a ceremony celebrating the founding of china is under way. the chief executive comments on political reform, rashing that different idealing are quite understandable and goes on to say that he supports the new election system proposed by china.

this was our last day of filming. meanwhile, the two sides of the protest clashed outside. the fight for democracy in hong kong looks set to continue.

hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, november 6th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the u.s. midterm election results have transformed the political dynamic in washington. republicans have won a majority in the senate. they now have control of both chambers of congress for the first time in eight years. voters cast pal lots for 36 of the senate's 100 seats. republicans will hold a majority of at least 52 but a runoff in louisiana means the count won't be known until next month. all 435 seats in the house of representatives were being contested.