>> narrator: om the first to the millions who took to the streets against beijing' control. >> all acts are one step closer to terrorism. >> narrator: filmed over eight months- an inside look at the conflict. >> in the eyes of the chinese communist party all fighting fo demois over the red line. >> narrator: "battle for hong ko", now on frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contbutions to your pbs station from viewers like you. d by the corporation for

public broadcasting. major suppt is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed da building a more just, v anpeaceful world. and by the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social chang worldwide. additional support is providedbr by thes foundation, committed to excellence in journalism. thpark foundation, dedicated to heightening public e john and helen glessnerues. family trust. supporting trustworthy journalismhat informs and inspires. the heising-simons foundation:e, unlocking knowle opportunity, and possibilities. and by the frontline journalism fund, th major suppo from jon and jo ann hagler. ♪

>> mom(in cantonese): (sniffles) ♪ c (phoera clicks) (sniffles) ♪

(sniffles) (people talking in background) >> narrator: it's the fourth month of pro-democracy demonstrations in hong kong. (people shouting) protesters have surrounded the car of an off-duty police officer. >> man (shouting): >> narrator: the city is in turmoil. m >>: >> officer: >> man: (gun fires, people shoutin m an: >> narrator: the officer sots and injures a 14-year-old

protester. (people shouting) how did one of the world's biggest financial centers descend into such chaos and violence? and where will it end? >> man:ss (g shatters) (people shouti >> man: ♪ >> narrator: this film follows rofive young protesters thh the most intense clashes. ♪ facing arrest for their actions, umost are wearing masks ang aliases to protect their identities. they say they're fighting for their freedom against th communist government of china.)

(fir (people shouting) china says they are "radicals,"d "thugs "separatists." (guns firing, people shouting) ♪ >> momo: (cwd chanting) >> narrator: momo is a nurse in her late 20s. was a british colony. hong kong (chanting continues) (phone camera clicks) in 1997, it was returned to china and granted special statuo r 50 years-- allowing for far more freedoms than in mainland china.

but the city's government would be accountable to e communist regime-- and its leader approved by beijing. >> momo: (man shouting) (crowd chanting) >> narrator: on june the 12th last year, momo was one of tens of thousands who took tohe hong kong's government proposed a controversial extradition bill that wouldus allow criminalcts to be sent for trial in mainland china. >> momo:

(shouting) a >> narrator:d growing concerns about china's influen in hong kong, the extradition bill struck a nerve. (crowd chantg) the majority of protesters were peaceful, but a w tried to take on the police. momo says she wasn't ready forne what happene. >> momo: ut ing) >> narrator: the police fired large amounts of tear gas into the crow.

ey were filmedeating protesters. (shouting) >> momo: (sirens blaring) ♪

(sirens blaring) >> narrator: the hong kong authorities said the police had adopted a restrained and tolerant attitude on june 12, and called the protesters "rioters." for many hongkongers, that day was a turning point. one of them was lomi, a researcher. >> lomi:

(man speaking cantonese) >> lomi: om >> narrator:and her friends are in a safe house, preparing for the next protest. >> lomi: >> narrator: in thweeks since june 12, the demonstrations have escalated.th e protesters now have more demands, including the right to directly elect hong kong's leader without china's approval. >> narrator: the majority havece been peaful, but some-- like lomi-- are taking different approach. >> lomi:

>> (talking softly i background) (people shouting) >> lomi: ♪

(tear gas guns firing) >> narrator: the police start firing tear gas to try to clear the streets. >> lomi: (people shouting) ♪ >> lomi: >> man: >> lomi: >> man: >> narrator: lomi and her team help bui barricades to stop police water cannon vehicles getting within range. >> lom n

arrator: then they realize a the poli closing in. >> lomi: ♪ >> narrator:econds later, police special forces charge the protesters. ♪ they make more than a hundred arrests. but lomi and her team escape. >> man: >> lomi:

>> narrator: lomand her friends say they'rrunning out of time. hong kong's special status is due to end in 2047, when chinae will takck full control. >> lomi:

♪ >> narrator: as the protests have intensified, china has warned that it could directly intervene. >> woman (in mandarin) ♪ (crowd shouting, chanting) (chanting continues)

>> vincent:ut (shog) >> narrator: vincent is one of tens of thousands of high schooe students at the t of the protests. >> vincent: >> woman: >> vincent >> narrator: he has firsthand experience of life in mainland cha. he grew up there before moving to hong kong in s teens. >> vincent:

an shouting) (crowdhanting) >> narrator: vincent says he fears hong kong will become a surveillance state like china. (man shouting) some lampposts here are already dequipped with sensors an cameras, and have become targets of the protesters. (crowd cheering, post crashes) (cheering more loudly,ap auding) >> (laughing) >> vincent: (sir blaring) >> narrator: hong kong currentle has a frress and internet--e unlike on the chinesinland,

where both are heavily censored. so, it was only when vincentar ved in hong kong that he learned about china's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at tiananmen square in 1989. (guns firing rapidly on vide vincent: (crowd chanting)

(vincent shoutg)to >> narra since the protests began, millions of hong kong residents have participated, making them the largest on chinese territory since tiananmen square. (man shouting) on this nit, vincent has joined thousands of others in the center of the city. one of their slogans is "liberate hong kong: revolution of our time." >> vincent: (crowd shouting) >> narrator: a few hours later, the violence escales. (crowd shouting)fi thrst live round is fired by the police. un fires) a warng shot. (shouting) >> vincent:

(shouting continues) ♪ ♪ future.ought a lot on my own i had to be mentally prepared to be arrested or even to be sent to the prison. >> narrator: at 22, agnes chow is already a veteran of pro-democracy protests. she's not worried about showings her face because's already

known to the authorities. she was recently arrested. >> when i woke up and i opened the do of my room, i suddenly saw five police officers standing outside of my room. and i was so shocked. >> narrator: now she's on bail and tonight must report to ati police s. agnes says she was demonstrating peacefly, but was charged with king part and inciting others to join an unauthorized assembly. >> if i was sent to prison because of participating in the assembly or protest, of course as a political prisoner. ♪ the violence and the suppression from beijing and the so hong kong police, isnd getting stronger and stronger. ♪

(man speaking cantonese) (crowd cheering and applauding) >> narrator: hong kong h ahistory of pro-democracy demonstrations and protests against china, but never on this scale. >> man: >> narrator: and now, the police deem most demonstrations ilutgal, citing concerns abo violence. >> man: >> hong kong people should enjoy genuine democracy. at least we would have a political system that could nd of force the government to respect and to lisn to public opinion. (in cantonese): in the eyes of the chinese communist party, all behavior, all social movement, fighting for a democracy is ovethe red line. (in cantonese): r

(croeats, applauding) we want to choosour future by ourselves. ♪ >> narrator: agnes is scheduled to go on trial soon. she faces up to five years behind bars. ♪ (sirens blaring) it's mid-september. momo has been protesting regularly since june. >> (outing) >> momo: (sirens blarin >> narrator: she says violence used to suppress the protests has traumatized her. it's also made her angry.

she now goes to the front lines providing medical support and extinguishing tear gas rounds. >> momo: r: >> narraong kong is now bitterly divided over the best way forward-- and whether the protests are doing more harm than good. recession in a decade, and many blame the protests. >> momo:

♪ >> narrator: it's been almost four months of protests. lomi has been out confronting the police several times a wk. >> lomi:

(men shouting) (sirens blaring) >> narrator: the police are stepping up the arrests. the protesters face up to tenot years in jail for g, so the stakes are high. >> lomi: >> woman: >> narrator: lomi's team are in their safe house planning their nextove. >> lomi:>> arrator: one of the biggest celebrations in china's history is on thhorizon, and the protesters are planning to dode all they can to unine it. >> lomi:

>> narrator: october 1 marks national day, 70 years since in china.ning of communist rule a huge parade in beijing will showcase china's incasing military and economic power to the world. >> lomi: ♪ >> narrator: the hong kong police are on high alert. (sirens blaring) >> we are on the verge of extreme danger. mass property destruion,st furious et fights, indiscriminate attacks on nocent citizens. there arapparent signs that hardcore violence will escalate in the near future.

all acts a one step closer to terrorism. ♪ >> narrator: vincent, the high scho student from mainland china, is so planning to protest on national day. for him and many other protestersthe communist party is the enemy. >> vincent: >> it's a very symbolic day. a lot of people are suffering under this regime,eople in tibet or xinjiang or people practici religion in china, people who voice out the truth. that's why, for us, it's never a day r celebration.

♪ (cannons firing) >> narrator: the celebrations in beijing are underway, marking china's emergence as a global power. (marching band playi) (shouting in mandarin) presiding over the event is china's leader, xi jinping. (marching band continues) (pade playing over phone) back in hong kong, momo is getting ready for action on the streets. >> momo (in cantonese):

>> xi (in mandarin, via phone): (live, over speakers): (fanfare playing) >> vincent (in cantonese):

(shooting tear gas canisters) ♪ >> woman: >> lomi: split up to stretch the police response across e city. >> lomi: (tear gas canister hisses)

(guns firing and popping in (people shouting) >> man: >> narrator: as the day progresses, the protesters' anr agait china ramps up >> man: >> narrator: a group of them surround a chinese tourist. >> man: >> narrator: there's gwing suspicion of anyone from the mainland. >> man: (people shouting) >> man: (people shouting) >> lomi: >> man (in mandarin): (protesters chanting)

(tear gas gun firing) >> narrator: by mid-afternoon on naal day, clashes between p protesters andice have spread t13 areas across hong kong. (tear gas guns firing) >> lomi (in cantonese): >> narrator: the police are gclosing in around lomi'sroup. (tear gas guns firing) (people shouting) >> lomi: >> man: >> lom (sirens blaring, tear gas guns firing)♪ (tear gas guns firing) >> narrator: in another part of the city, momo's heading to the front line

(man shoutin she's recorded a message for her parents. >> momo: (sniffles) (sniffles) (sniffles) >> narrator: over the course of the protests on national day, the ho kong police say they

e forced to shoot six live rounds to defend themselves. (people shouting) hoone is fired by an officse colleague is being attacked by a group of protesters.ir (gunes) gh school student.ly injures ahi (people shouting) xi (in mandarin): (crowd applauding) >> narrator: to cap off the day, there's a huge firework display in beijing. (crowd cheering) hong kong's official fireworks are canceled. but the protesters organize their own.

(fireworks shrieking and exploding) (crowd gasps, cheers) >> vincent: (crowd cheering) (shouting and cheering) (firework explodes, crowd cheers) ♪ >> nrator: after the violenc on china's national day, hong kong's authorities take new measures in an effort to stop the protests.

>> protesters' violence has bees escalating and h reached a very alarming level the past few days, causing numerous injuries and leading hong kong to a chaotic and panicked situation. the chief executive and council decided at a special meeting this morning to invoke the power under the emergency regulations ordinance. the objective of this regulatios o end violence and restore order. >> narrator: face masks are banned. the government also goes on to make a concession, formally withdrawing the extradition ll that ignited the protests. but it's too le. hard-liners ramp up their battles with the police and taks control of a uniy campus.

>> li: >> narrator: li is part of a coreroup oupying the chinese university of hong kong. >> li: >> narrator: li is married and has a daughter. he's been protesting since june. >> li: >> man: >> li:

>> man: >> narrator: li and his fellow hard-liners are devising ways to keep the police at bay, fortifying their barricade of the university campus. >> man: >> li: >> m:

>> li: >> man: >> man 2: ♪ (man talking on radio) >> narrator: li and the hard-liners have heard there's a larger gathering elsewhere in hong kong. they decide to andon the chinese university. >> li: (man shouting) >> narrator: they have a bigger battleght-- across the city, at the hong kong polytechnic university.

(sirens blaring) >> man: >> narrator: around 2,000 protesters have amassed at the campus. (man shouting) lomi is among the crowd. and li and his fellow hard-liners are also here. >> man: >> narrator: the police have them surrounded. >> li: >> man: >> li: t narrator: it's the starof the most violent confrontationes since the prts began. (shouting) up on thterrace, li is in the firing line.

(protesters shouting) (sirs blaring) >> man: >> li: >> man: >> li: >> man: >> li: (tear gas gun fires)

(canister hissing) ♪ (protesters shouting) >> narrator: the standoff at the university drags on through the night. ♪ inside, there's a gring sense of despetion. >> man: ♪

>> narrator: lomi and her team start planning their escape. >> lomi: >> narrator: they plan to use a rope to climonto a nearby highway overpass. >> man: >> man:: >> lomi: (phone ringing)

(siren blaring) >> narrator: lomi disappears into the chaos jusas another group of protesters trto get out of the campus. ♪ >>oman: >> man: >> narrator: the pole continue to bombard the crowdith tearub gas,r bullets, and water cannons. (proteers shouting) >> woman: >> narrator: suddenly, the police move in. (protesters shouting)(t ear gas guns firing)

>> officer: s >> narrator: ia major victory for the authorities. after nearly half a year of pitched battles, much of the hard-line protest movement has been broken apart. >> officer: in

>> officer cantonese): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: after the end of the polytechnic siege, the lice arrest more protesters. >> momo:

>> narrator: momo is still going to the protests. she says she's incasingly worried about the countdown to china taking full control of hong kong. >> momo:

>> vincent: >> narrator: vincent is now on bail after being arrested forem unauthorized ay. he used to regularly visite mainland china to ses father and family, but after hishe arrest, he says worried the authorities there will also punish him for being part of the protests. >> vincent:

♪ >> lomi: >> narrator: lomi has fled hong kong. afteeescaping the campus sieg eight weeks eaier, she's taking refuge in nearby taiwan. > omi:

oice trembling) ♪ ♪

♪

♪ >> go to pbs.org/frontline for the latest on the protests in hong kong. and how the outbak of the coronavirus is impacting the situation. visit the frontline archive where you can stream more than 200 frontline documentars. >> connect to the frontline community on facebook and twitter, and watch anytime on the pbs video p or pbs.org/frontline. >> i'm jeff bezos. >> what is youclaim to fame? >> i'm the founder of azon.com. >> is amazon taking over the world a good thing? >> what jeff bezos is after is a company that is the infrastructure, that owns the infrastructure.

and that's anl incredibly powerace to be. >> ...some people asking if amazon is a monopoly. >> how do you and jeff think about the call to break you guys up? company's been succee doesn't mean it's somehow too big. >> fne is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by t john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed erto building a more just,nt and peaceful world. and by the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, commted to excellence in journalism. the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john and helen glessner family trust. supporting trustworthy journali that informs and inspires. the heising-simons foundation:dg unlocking know opportunity, and possibilities.

ontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> for more on this and other "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ frontline's, "battle for hong kong" is available on amazon prime video. ♪ ♪

♪ you're watching pbs. ♪ ♪

at the just for laughs festival in montreal. he was a two-time stand-up comedy competitionhampion, so start clapping right now, and make some good noise for jeremy mclellan, everybody! [ cheers and applause ] -i do a lot of material, on politics, anything that people are alually not supposed toabout in polite company. i travel full-time, and whenever i travel, people always assume that just because i'm from south carolina, i mustcist. but, like, south carolina, we actually have a very rich, progressive history. i don't f you know this, but we actually started the war that ended slavery. [ laughter ] so you're welcome. free speech is the entire lifeblood of comedy. without free speech, you don't have it. ♪