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  • - So we're in, kind of, the main hub of Hong Kong's financial center.

  • People have decided to take time out of their lunch break

  • to make their presence known here.

  • Almost none of the people here knew they would be doing this today.

  • Throughout the movement, protesters have kept up pressure

  • on the government, without leaders, political parties or planning.

  • Instead, they organized spontaneously, through technology.

  • We heard about this action through Instagram earlier in the day.

  • About 15 minutes before it took place,

  • we got the location through a messaging app called Telegram.

  • Over the course of an hour, more and more people showed up.

  • This is how this movement is different from Hong Kong's 2014 umbrella revolution

  • and different from traditional protests.

  • Strategy is discussed on online forums.

  • Decisions are made via online polls.

  • Updates are shared on encrypted apps and live streams.

  • And everything is anonymous.

  • The internet has long been used to organize political movements,

  • but governments are becoming more capable

  • of surveilling and controlling what happens online.

  • The most sophisticated system is in China,

  • where the government monitors people's online speech

  • and tracks them with facial recognition.

  • But it's happening everywhere.

  • - The surveillance ecosystem has expanded considerably over the last decade.

  • So, protesters are using technology in new ways.

  • This allows them to organize without leaders

  • and express dissent without revealing their identity.

  • - Are all the organizers anonymous?

  • - Yes, of course. We have to do it.

  • It's protest for the era of mass surveillance.

  • Hong Kong, facing the threat of China, is leading the way.

  • We're traveling around the world to understand how China is changing...

  • basically everything.

  • This week: protests.

  • I'm Nikhil Sonnad from Hong Kong.

  • I'm Isabelle Niu from Barcelona.

  • You're watching...

  • You're watching...

  • Because China.

  • Because China.

- So we're in, kind of, the main hub of Hong Kong's financial center.

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