HONG KONG -- First, there were the simple signs reading "We want democracy," and a huge orange banner asking, in slightly wobbly handwriting: "Do u hear the people sing."
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Then came painted umbrellas, umbrella sculptures, stickers, laminated flyers, and ever-growing collections of messages (on post-its or bits of cardboard torn from boxes) on which passers-by have been writing their messages of support.
The goals of the huge street protests that began in Hong Kong a week ago have not wavered: more democracy for this China-controlled former British colony; and a call for its deeply unpopular chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, to resign.
But the atmosphere of the demonstration has evolved gently. It has shifted and shown fresh faces with every day that has gone by –- as shown by the signs and increasingly complex works of spontaneous art that have been popping up on street surfaces and building walls.
On Monday (a day after a tear gas attack had incensed ordinary Hong Kongers), someone had hand-scrawled a crude sign saying "Please Save HK" and tied it to a road railing.
By Tuesday, a fence outside one of the besieged government offices sprouted a meadow of yellow ribbons –- symbols of democracy here.
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On Wednesday –- a public holiday here -– things really took off: a sea of cardboard signs bearing messages from passers-by materialized on the surface of one normally busy highway. Not far away, a church group had made small cardboard tags, on which people could write their "blessings" for Hong Kong. Hundreds were hanging from a streetside fence by early afternoon.
"We wanted to show our own support, and to get others involved too," said one of the organizers. "It's very important."
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On the concrete stairwell leading up to a footbridge near the heart of the demo, hundreds of yellow, pink, blue post-it notes have gone up as the days have ticked by. They bear little drawings of umbrellas, and messages of support in Cantonese and English, French or German. "Be led by Love & Peace, I love HK," says one. "We Care. Love U All," says another. One simply reads "For Democracy."
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Everywhere, the umbrellas that have come to symbolize the protests (they were used by demonstrators to protect themselves from pepper spray deployed by police on September 28) have started to bear written messages, too. I spotted two –- reading "support democracy" and fringed with yellow ribbons -– on Thursday.
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And a big colorful roof of sewn-together umbrellas materialized on Friday, stretched between two footbridges (alas, it disappeared again not long after, thanks to the heavy rains that lashed the city that night).
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Everywhere you look, there are signs calling for calm and non-violence. Despite scuffles in the neighborhood of Mongkok in recent days, the whole event is overwhelmingly calm and peaceful –- and the demonstrators want it to stay that way.
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