page_title: Tactics and methods surrounding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
section_title: Black bloc and group defences
hierarchical_section_title: Tactics and methods surrounding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests / Demonstrations / Black bloc and group defences
caption_attribution_description: English: 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition law protest on 16 June, captured by Studio Incendo from Flickr.
context_page_description: This is a list of tactics and methods used by the protesters during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
context_section_description: During street protests, black bloc methods have enhanced anonymity and privacy, enabling demonstrators to "be water" and function more effectively as a group. Participants in demonstrations are increasingly dressed in black, and wear hard hats and gloves. To resist police surveillance and protect against chemical weapons such as tear gas and pepper spray, face masks and goggles are also popular attire. Protesters also developed a set of hand signs to aid communications and form human chains to transport supplies. As protests continued to escalate and the police began to use higher levels of riot control weaponry, activists upgraded their makeshift gears from using surfboards as shields. They also wore protective equipment including heat-resistant gloves and respirators. The 2014 Ukrainian Revolution was commonly described as an inspiration for Hong Kong protesters.
  Protesters have also adopted different roles during demonstrations. Peaceful protesters chanted slogans, passed supplies, and volunteered as medics, while frontliners led the charge, extinguished tear gas with water, or neutralised them using objects such as traffic cones and kitchenware. Protesters have used laser pointers to distract the police, sprayed paint on surveillance cameras, and unfurled umbrellas to protect and conceal the identities of the group in action and to avoid facial recognition. When protesters departed via MTR, they often made piles of extra changes of clothes for other activists, and also left money to purchase single-use tickets and avoid tracking via Octopus cards.
caption: Protesters commonly wore black during the protests.
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