Top 10 highlights of Occupy Central so far

Occupy Central organisers said they'd need about 10,000 supporters to shut down Hong Kong's financial district before the movement was officially launched at 1.45am on Sunday. Tens of thousands of protesters have since taken to the streets, paralysing not just Central but also parts of Causeway Bay, Admiralty and Mong Kok. As we enter the third day of the movement, SCMP.com takes a look back at some of the highlights of the protests so far. 10. Umbrellas Through tear gas and the sweltering sun, umbrellas have been an indispensable tool for Occupy Central protesters – becoming a new symbol of protest for a more democratic Hong Kong. As the civil disobedience movement entered a second day on Monday, logos for the "umbrella revolution" or "umbrella movement" began spreading on social media, and have just kept picking up steam since. Weapons of mass obstruction: New umbrellas, #OccupyCentral's tear gas shields, spotted in protest zone pic.twitter.com/8kf1IHtOnw — SCMP News (@SCMP_News) September 29, 2014 Umbrella man meets Tank Man, courtesy of @daviottenheimer and @raykwong #hk #929 pic.twitter.com/x2zumL9qgm — Louisa Lim (@limlouisa) September 29, 2014 9. Timelapse of the protests The SCMP multimedia team created this timelapse from images taken by traffic cameras in Causeway Bay on Sunday night, as the popular shopping area quickly became a third front of the protests. 8. 'Sea of lights' As darkness fell on Monday evening, protesters lifted their smartphones and tablets to the sky to create a sea of lights across Admiralty and Central. 7. Barbecuing Financier Daniel Shepherd and several others attracted a lot of attention last night when they brought a barbecue to help feed protesters in Admiralty. The barbecue wrapped up at around 12.30am, after serving sausages and corn to hungry demonstrators for more than five hours. Shepherd rebuked claims on social media that they were just there to party. "We are not here to have a lot of fun. We are just trying to provide hot food for everyone as this fight will last for while," he said to cheers from the crowd. The team of grillers said they had spent between HK$10,000 and HK$12,000 on food. Foreigners grilling sausages and corn for protesters in Admiralty, via passiontimes.hk: pic.twitter.com/IiA2t9Cmqn — James Griffiths (@jgriffiths) September 29, 2014 6. Carrie Lam's slip-up Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong's chief secretary and chief executive CY Leung's right-hand woman, was left red-faced after a slip of the tongue during a press conference. Lam said that police had used "appropriate violence" when dealing with protesters on Sunday. A spokesman later clarified that she had meant to say "appropriate force". "The secretary is sorry for the misunderstanding that this could have caused," the spokesman added. 5. Signs Protesters across the city have shown their inventiveness and a sense of humour with signs and banners. Their conscientiousness has been on show too, with a startling lack of graffiti and most signs simply taped to barricades or traffic poles so as to make removal easier. "Fight for democracy" in different languages... As a new day breaks over Causeway Bay #OccupyHK pic.twitter.com/RD3TfCJiyY — Jennifer Ngo (@jj_ngo) September 29, 2014 “We don’t need umbrellas, we need democracy!” pic.twitter.com/DvMk3YzxoV — James Griffiths (@jgriffiths) September 29, 2014 4. Global attention The protests made front page news around the globe on Sunday and Monday, and politicians from around the world have commented on the demonstrations, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and White House spokesman Josh Earnest. “The United States urges the Hong Kong authorities to exercise restraint and for protesters to express their views peacefully,” Earnest said. “The United States supports universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the Basic Law and we support the aspirations of the Hong Kong people." 3. Supplies, supplies everywhere With some protesters having been on the streets for several days, keeping everyone fed and watered seemed like it would have been a problem. However, after an outpouring of support from other Hongkongers, even those who were "too cowardly" (in their own words) to join the protests, demonstrators have been inundated with bottles of water, snacks, and anti-tear gas tools. Supplies for (still peaceful) protesters at Causeway Bay. Again, pic by my bro. #OccupyCentral #HongKong pic.twitter.com/ekOplvKOTi — Andrea Woo (@AndreaWoo) September 30, 2014 donated supplies clutter the #causewaybay mtr #occupycentral #hk pic.twitter.com/MK4AJko4Nx this guy is giving so many fruits #UmbrellaMovement pic.twitter.com/hJj4g7nzBP — Kris Cheng (@krislc) September 29, 2014 — Harbour Times (@harbourtimes) September 29, 2014 Cheers and applause arose the moment supplies trucks drove through. #OccupyCentral #UmbrellaMovement pic.twitter.com/eG0A3yIIvm — Becky Sun (@beckysjourno) September 29, 2014 2. Recycling With tens of thousands of people in the streets, it seems inevitable that piles of rubbish will be left in their wake. Not so in Hong Kong, where protesters have been collecting waste and even sorting it for recycling. Protesters diligently recycling bottles and clearing rubbish #occupycentral #hongkong @stanyee pic.twitter.com/iDp62F585f — Rosalind Chin (@RosalindChinTV) September 30, 2014 Only in #HongKong: Protesters organize recycling to keep the streets clean. #UmbrellaRevolution pic.twitter.com/pfeAHAFAU1 — Caroline Chen (@CarolineYLChen) September 30, 2014 The #UmbrellaRevolution recycles. #OccupyCentral pic.twitter.com/KQkkpnzGsd — Olivia Rosenman (@olivesophierose) September 29, 2014 1. Clear streets, clear skies Since Monday morning, Hongkongers have had the very novel experience of walking along streets empty of traffic, as much of Central and Admiralty remain completely closed to cars. Low pollution has proved to be an unexpected but welcome side-effect of the protests, with Environmental Protection Department data showing that air quality in all the affected areas was far better than on a normal weekday. Continue to follow the protests as they enter their third day on SCMP's liveblog, Facebook and Twitter.

Top 10 highlights of Occupy Central so far

A look back at some of the highlights of events so far as Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests enters a third day.

Occupy Central organisers said they'd need about 10,000 supporters to shut down Hong Kong's financial district before the movement was officially launched at 1.45am on Sunday.

Tens of thousands of protesters have since taken to the streets, paralysing not just Central but also parts of Causeway Bay, Admiralty and Mong Kok.

As we enter the third day of the movement, SCMP.com takes a look back at some of the highlights of the protests so far.

10. Umbrellas

9. Timelapse of the protests

8. 'Sea of lights'