In her pink top and billowy skirt there is little outward sign that Diana, 24, spends her weekends executing inventive, eye-catching protest tactics on the frontlines of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

Millions of young people have taken to the streets all summer to fight for the city’s freedoms in the face of growing repression from China. 

In increasingly chaotic clashes, the protesters at the frontline bring with them a variety of homespun tools to confound highly-trained riot police backed by extensive surveillance capabilities.

During the week Diana – not her real name – taps furiously on her phone chatting with fellow frontline activists about new ways to stay one step ahead of the authorities.

Green laser-pointers are a must-have, shone at police cameras to prevent protesters’ faces from being captured – any who are identified risk a 10-year prison sentence for rioting – or target officers’ eyes.

Last weekend, as clashes between protesters and police descended into pandaemonium, Diana swung the beam to-and-fro to direct the pace of charges and retreats.

“I don’t know why, I just had the idea,” she said.

Effective protesting is all about “having a team of people,” said Brian, 20, who also declined to give his real name for fear of arrest.

Protesters drag cones to block traffic on a busy road in the centre of the city

One group, protesters explained, distracts police with the lasers or other bright lights so a second team can counter-attack. A third group leads changes to the formation and a fourth at the rear keeps spirits high by drumming and shouting slogans, while scouts and runners pass supplies and news between different frontlines.

Some protesters trained in parkour scale overpasses to assess the situation on the ground or drop objects to deter police. 

Others work together to snuff out tear-gas, swiftly dropping traffic cones over the smoking canisters then pouring water into them through the nozzle.

This is a dangerous business, drawing giant blisters on protesters’ arms and gasps on widely-shared social media clips.

To stymie facial recognition, demonstrators also spray paint surveillance cameras or unfurl umbrellas around groups in action – for instance, when they are removing metal street gates or bus stop sign poles to erect barriers to block police and indicate safe zones for protesters.

When they head home,  protesters leave behind cash at subway stations to avoid being tracked through their public transport cards.

Now demonstrators pull up metal street signs to use as shields, don arm and leg guards, procure iron rods, and bring everything from bricks to eggs to throw. 

 Communication is carefully restricted, too.

Frontline defenders never store each other’s contact information and limit tactical chats to small numbers while designated messengers pass information between the groups. 

The laser beams can disorient police and block facial recognition technologyCredit:
SIPA USA

The idea is to prevent police from tracking down too many people in case one person is arrested or devices are confiscated.

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Across the city, activists target visitors from mainland China – where news of the protests are restricted to government propaganda – by using Airdrop to send information on why there are protests, the real story behind Tiananmen Square and emphasise that foreign forces do not control the movement. 

Many protesters also keep their frontline participation from family, friends, and colleagues, so as to keep them from worrying and preserve relationships over differing political opinions.

“Every weekend, I feel so angry, passionate, desperate,” said Diana. “But on weekdays, you have to pretend to be a normal person and go to work.  

A protester uses a traffic cone to cover a tear gas canisterCredit:
AP

The double life can be hard to balance –  she recently got home at 2 am after choking on streams of tear gas before heading to the office by 7 am. Seconds before a standoff exploded, one frontliner was overheard asking his mother not to ring again, saying his movie was not over yet.

The frontliners draw parallels and inspiration for their own fight from the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution, though many worry that police or protester deaths are on the horizon – a development that could finally begin to splinter public opinion, which has largely been in support of the movement.

Protesters, however, say the Hong Kong government already has blood on its hands, given a series of protest-related suicides in recent weeks.

To them, success is the only option after being thwarted in the 2014 pro-democracy protests dubbed the Umbrella Revolution.

“Every time I stand out, I walk and fight for those who committed suicide and those who have been arrested,” said Diana.

“They were sacrificed; we can’t go back and say we forgive the government.”