"Riot police use pepper spray as they clash with pro-democracy protesters outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. <a href=""http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/22/asia/gallery/hong-kong-students-protest/index.html"">Demonstrations began</a> in response to China's decision to allow only Beijing-vetted candidates to stand in the city's 2017 election for chief executive. Protesters say Beijing has gone back on its pledge to allow universal suffrage in Hong Kong, which was promised ""a high degree of autonomy"" when it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997. The umbrella has become the defining image of the protest movement, used to shield protesters from tear gas and the elements."
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