Six months of sacrifice : Hong Kong's protesters take stock

Some of them have lost their jobs, suffered life-changing injuries and even fled overseas. But six months into Hong Kong's demonstrations, pro-democracy protesters say they aren't backing down. The unprecedented movement was born on June 9, when an estimated million people took to the streets to protest a proposed bill allowing extradition to mainland China. With Beijing taking a hard line, it has since broadened into a call to halt authoritarian China's attempts to erode freedoms in the city. Six months on, the Beijing-backed government has offered few concessions and protests have turned increasingly violent, exacting a heavy toll. 

Raymond Yeung, a liberal studies teacher at the elite Diocesan Girls' School, joined the movement early and was there on June 12 when a massive protest descended into violence. Protesters broke into the forecourt of the city's legislative building, throwing objects including metal bars at police. Officers responded with rubber bullets, bean bag rounds and tear gas against their aggressors, but then turned their weapons on the huge, peaceful crowds outside the complex, igniting anger that has fuelled the protests for months. Yeung was hit in the face — to this day he's not sure if it was a rubber bullet or bean bag round — and his glasses shattered into his eyes. He was left with a serious injury to his right eye that means he now has just 30 per cent vision. He was also arrested for rioting, though he was later released. Six months on, he has no regrets. "There's not a day that passes when I don't think about how I can contribute more to the cause," he told AFP. "Money and material enjoyment are important, but no longer that important."