Thousands of students formed human chains outside schools across Hong Kong Monday in solidarity with pro-democracy protesters, as the city's government issued a warning to the U.S. to keep out of its affairs, AP reports.
The big picture: The students' silent protest took place a day after violent clashes between police and activists in the semiautonomous Chinese territory following a peaceful march to the U.S. Consulate, where thousands of protesters called on President Trump to "liberate" the former British colony and for Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, per AP.
- Violence erupted between police and protesters following the march, with some activists starting fires and vandalizing a Mass Transit Railway station and police firing tear gas at demonstrators, Reuters reports.
What they're saying: The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency carried a statement from Hong Kong’s government expressing regret over the bill, which proposes economic sanctions on officials in the city and China who are found to suppress democracy and human rights in the city, per AP.
"[F]oreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the [government]."
Alan Leong, an alumnus of Wah Yan College in the city’s Kowloon district, tells Reuters, "The school-based human chain is the strongest showcase of how this protest is deep rooted in society." Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images High school students cover their left eyes, representing a woman who protesters say was injured when a bean-bag round was fired by police at an earlier protest. Photo: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images The Mid-Levels area protest. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images Many students displayed signs to convey their message. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images The Mid-Levels area protest. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images The Mid-Levels area protest. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images High school students during a rally in the Sha Tin district of Hong Kong. Photo: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images 
