Spirited and defiant, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement has entered its second week, following a dramatic escalation over the weekend that saw tens of thousands protesters returning to the streets night after night.

The principal impetus for the mobilization is the Chinese government’s about-face on the 2017 election of Hong Kong’s chief executive, the Beijing-installed political leader of the city. Having claimed it would grant universal suffrage, Beijing reversed its decision in late August and said it would limit the nomination of candidates to an ad hoc committee made up of the city’s business and political elites. The protesters are demanding an open nomination process in which Hong Kong citizens can field candidates without the backing of Beijing.

The Occupy Central movement, the major grouping in what’s being called the Umbrella Revolution, is led by moderate reformers: two academics and a reverend. Students have also been at the forefront of the pro-democracy movement. The Hong Kong Federation of Students has threatened class boycotts and labor and business strikes while demanding open nomination and the sacking of the current chief executive. Another student group, Scholarism, led by seventeen-year-old Joshua Wong, is also active. (A pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper has asserted that Wong has connections to the US government, a charge the student leader denies.)