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Photos: Love in the time of unrest, barricades and Hong Kong politics

A gas mask lovingly adjusted, a hand squeezed before approaching police lines and a frantic search through swirls of tear gas -- Abby and Nick's relationship has blossomed on the barricades during Hong Kong's long summer of protest. Most of the frontline protesters driving the months-long pro-democracy demonstrations are students -- so-called "braves" facing pepper spray, rubber bullets and arrest in defence of their city's values.

Updated on: Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM IST

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Abby (R), 19, and her boyfriend Nick, 20, (L) -- who are keeping their real names under wraps -- hold hands as they crouch down on a road, after they found each other in a shopping mall following their separation, as tear gas was being fired by police during a protest in Tsuen Wan, an area in the New Territories in Hong Kong. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

Abby (R), 19, and her boyfriend Nick, 20, (L) -- who are keeping their real names under wraps -- hold hands as they crouch down on a road, after they found each other in a shopping mall following their separation, as tear gas was being fired by police during a protest in Tsuen Wan, an area in the New Territories in Hong Kong. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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A medic tries to communicate with protesters behind the blocked doors of a shopping mall, shortly after protesters told others to leave following the arrival of police water cannon during a protest in Tsuen Wan. Like Abby and Nick, many are young, bookish and should be on the fast-track to well-paying jobs in the city’s financial services sector. Instead a political awakening has thrust them onto the frontlines. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

A medic tries to communicate with protesters behind the blocked doors of a shopping mall, shortly after protesters told others to leave following the arrival of police water cannon during a protest in Tsuen Wan. Like Abby and Nick, many are young, bookish and should be on the fast-track to well-paying jobs in the city’s financial services sector. Instead a political awakening has thrust them onto the frontlines. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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Nick holds metal cooking tongs as he types a message to his girlfriend after they were separated when police fired tear gas. For endless weeks they have fended off tear gas and run from police baton charges, an unlikely band of rebels -- labelled “rioters” by Hong Kong police and “terrorists” by China -- who have forged tight bonds over a long holiday of demonstrations. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

Nick holds metal cooking tongs as he types a message to his girlfriend after they were separated when police fired tear gas. For endless weeks they have fended off tear gas and run from police baton charges, an unlikely band of rebels -- labelled “rioters” by Hong Kong police and “terrorists” by China -- who have forged tight bonds over a long holiday of demonstrations. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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Nick met Abby, a year his junior, at university in June as debate on an extradition bill to China began to fizz. Opposition to the bill fuelled mass rallies. Peaceful protest gave way to pitched battles with police. The pair have since spent hours together on the barricades facing riot police -- dates of sorts, spiced up by adrenaline and fired by the injustice at the city government’s refusal to give ground. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

Nick met Abby, a year his junior, at university in June as debate on an extradition bill to China began to fizz. Opposition to the bill fuelled mass rallies. Peaceful protest gave way to pitched battles with police. The pair have since spent hours together on the barricades facing riot police -- dates of sorts, spiced up by adrenaline and fired by the injustice at the city government’s refusal to give ground. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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“We’ve been to a lot of protests since June, nearly every weekend,” Abby said. “It’s not about having fun. But it is very good to share the experience with someone... it’s unique.” The couple travel to protests together, transforming from inconspicuous students into black-clad rebels in shopping mall toilets, faces covered by gas masks and goggles, taking positions a few rows back from the hardcore demonstrators who throw bricks at the police. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

“We’ve been to a lot of protests since June, nearly every weekend,” Abby said. “It’s not about having fun. But it is very good to share the experience with someone... it’s unique.” The couple travel to protests together, transforming from inconspicuous students into black-clad rebels in shopping mall toilets, faces covered by gas masks and goggles, taking positions a few rows back from the hardcore demonstrators who throw bricks at the police. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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“If I live long enough to tell my son, my grandson, this will be a great story,” said Nick, a diminutive humanities student. At a recent demo in the district of Tsuen Wan, Nick held an umbrella over Abby while she double checked the clasps on his gas mask -- tender moments before a hail of tear gas, which saw the couple separated during the chaos. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

“If I live long enough to tell my son, my grandson, this will be a great story,” said Nick, a diminutive humanities student. At a recent demo in the district of Tsuen Wan, Nick held an umbrella over Abby while she double checked the clasps on his gas mask -- tender moments before a hail of tear gas, which saw the couple separated during the chaos. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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The couple’s motivation is long-standing, both seeking to make right the failure of the “Umbrella Movement” protests of 2014 which withered after two and a half months. This time protests show little sign of abating, with the extradition bill sharpening their focus. The bill, which has been suspended but not formally withdrawn, is an emblem of Beijing’s creeping control over a city which enjoys unique freedoms. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

The couple’s motivation is long-standing, both seeking to make right the failure of the “Umbrella Movement” protests of 2014 which withered after two and a half months. This time protests show little sign of abating, with the extradition bill sharpening their focus. The bill, which has been suspended but not formally withdrawn, is an emblem of Beijing’s creeping control over a city which enjoys unique freedoms. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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“I’m one of the people who advocate democracy... if the bill is passed I may be extradited to China,” Nick said. While both are confident they are doing the right thing, the abnormality of life after three months of protest is starting to catch up with them. “We’re exhausted... fighting police, taking rubber bullets, it shouldn’t be like this,” he said. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

Updated on Aug 31, 2019 3:19 PM

“I’m one of the people who advocate democracy... if the bill is passed I may be extradited to China,” Nick said. While both are confident they are doing the right thing, the abnormality of life after three months of protest is starting to catch up with them. “We’re exhausted... fighting police, taking rubber bullets, it shouldn’t be like this,” he said. (Anthony Wallace / AFP)

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