Since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the semi-autonomous city has operated under a "one country, two systems" formula, allowing a limited democracy. In August, the Chinese government announced plans to vet candidates in Hong Kong's 2017 elections, virtually assuring only pro-Beijing politicians would be on the ballots. Student groups and pro-democracy supporters have taken to the streets in recent days to protest the limitations and to demand universal suffrage. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have occupied Hong Kong's Central District, bringing parts of the city to a standstill. The protests are one of the largest political challenges to Beijing since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Chinese officials have scolded protesters and warned against any foreign interference.
A protester raises his umbrellas in front of tear gas which was fired by riot police to disperse protesters blocking the main street to the Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong, on September 28, 2014. Hong Kong police used tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protests and baton-charged the crowd blocking a key road in the government district after Hong Kong and Chinese officials warned against illegal demonstrations. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
Protesters wave their mobile phones in the air in the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on September 29, 2014 in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Security forces wearing gas masks take positions opposite demonstrators taking part in a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (Xaume Olleros/AFP/Getty Images)
Riot police fire tear gas on student protesters occupying streets surrounding the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A protester throws an umbrella at riot police as fellow demonstrators blocked the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. Some Hong Kong financial firms advised staff to work from home on Monday or go to secondary offices after thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators blocked parts of the city and clashed with police. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
Riot police fire teargas to disperse protesters in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. Riot police advanced on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters in the early hours of Monday, firing volleys of tear gas that sent some fleeing as others erected barricades to block the security forces in the heart of the former British colony. (Reuters/Stringer)
Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators gather outside Hong Kong's government headquarters on September 28, 2014, braced for another night of confrontations with authorities. (AP Photo/Apple Daily)
A protester raises placards that read "Occupy Central" and "Civil disobedience" in front of riot policemen outside the government headquarter in Hong Kong on September 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Pro-democracy protesters flood the Central financial district in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Police officers stand guard as students carry a defaced cutout of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying during a protest march to his residence in Hong Kong on September 25, 2014. (Reuters/Bobby Yip)
A secondary school student wears a yellow ribbon pinned to her T-shirt during a rally against Beijing's election framework for Hong Kong, outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 26, 2014. (Reuters/Tyrone Siu)
Tens of thousands of protesters block traffic on the main road leading to Hong Kong's Central district on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Bobby Yip)
A woman reads the latest newspaper articles displayed at a sit-in protest in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A police car is blocked by protesters after thousands of people block a main road to the central district in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A student pro-democracy protester covers his face in plastic wrap to protect against pepper spray during a stand-off with local police on September 29, 2014 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Protesters wear masks and goggles to protect themselves from pepper spray while blocking a police car outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Riot police launch tear gas into the crowd as thousands of protesters surround the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Protesters walk through tear gas used by riot police against protesters after in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A student protester is overcome by pepper spray from riot police in Hong Kong on Sunday, September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Riot police use tear gas against protesters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Umbrellas are stacked at the protest site for pro-democracy activists' use if they need to shield themselves from pepper spray on September 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Riot police fire pepper spray on student protesters surrounding the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Protesters take cover from pepper spray with umbrellas as riot police clash with tens of thousands of protesters blocking the main street leading to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Bobby Yip)
Riot police pepper spray protesters after thousands of people block a main road to the financial central district in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Riot police fire pepper spray and grab protesters as thousands surround the government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Riot police use pepper spray against pro-democracy protesters holding umbrellas in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Students use social media while occupying streets around government headquarters in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A protester lies on the street as she joins others in blocking the main street to the Central district in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
A Malaysian activist holds a placard and a candle during a rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to support pro-democracy protests taking place in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)
Protestors and student demonstrators hold up their cellphones in a display of solidarity during a protest outside the headquarters of Legislative Council in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (Xaume Olleros/AFP/Getty Images)
On Saturday, September 27, 2014, Japan's Mount Ontake volcano erupted without warning, surprising several hundred nearby hikers. Plumes of volcanic gas and ash overtook the fleeing hikers and buried nearby lodges and outbuildings. Though most of the people on Mount Ontake that day were able to escape. 40 suffered significant injuries and at least 36 bodies have been found so far, according to Japanese authorities. More than 24 bodies remain at the summit, and recovery crews have been unable to return, wary of more activity from Ontake as tremors continue to shake the region.
Climbers descend Mount Ontake as the volcano erupts in central Japan on September 27, 2014, in this photo taken by a climber and released by Kyodo. The volcano erupted on Saturday, killing at least 36 people, officials and media said. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the volcano, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, erupted just before midday and sent ash pouring down the mountain's south slope for more than 3 km (2 mi). Mandatory credit. (Reuters/Kyodo)
A helicopter (right) flies above mountain lodges covered with volcanic ash near a crater of Mount Ontake billowing steam and ash, on September 27, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Climbers descend Mount Ontake as volcanic ash falls on September 27, 2014, in this photo taken by a climber and released by Kyodo. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Climbers descend Mount Ontake, fleeing volcanic ash on September 27, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Dense fumes spew from several vents on the slope of Mount Ontake as the volcano erupts on September 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Yomiuri Shimbun, Toshihiko Kawaguchi)
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and firefighters climb the ash-covered slope of Mount Ontake to rescue people who have been trapped in the mountaintop lodge during the eruption, one day after the volcano became active in central Japan, on September 28, 2014. (AP Photo/The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)
This aerial picture taken on September 28, 2014 shows a helicopter of Japan's Self Defense Force lifting a survivor from volcanic ash-covered slope of Mount Ontake. (JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images)
Steam and volcanic gases rise from Mount Ontake on September 27, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
A military helicopter hovers above Mount Ontake as it prepares to rescue stranded climbers on September 28, 2014. Military helicopters plucked several people from the Japanese mountainside Sunday after a spectacular volcanic eruption. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)
Mountain lodges, covered with volcanic ash are seen near a crater of Mount Ontake on September 27, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Japan Self-Defense Force soldiers run after landing in a helicopter for a rescue operation near the peak of Mount Ontake on September 29, 2014. (Reuters/Joint Staff of the Defence Ministry of Japan)
apan Self-Defense Force soldiers and firefighters work among mountain lodges covered with volcanic ash near the peak of Mount Ontake on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
A hiker is lifted by a rescue helicopter during a rescue operation on Mount Ontake on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Soldiers and police officers prepare a rescue operation near the peak of Mount Ontake on September 29, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
15JSDF soldiers and firefighters rescue an injured person from an ash-covered mountain lodge on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo) #
An injured person is lifted by a rescue helicopter from Mount Ontake on September 28, 2014. More than 500 Japanese military and police deployed on Sunday to search the peak of the volcano a day after its sudden eruption trapped hundreds. (Reuters/Kyodo)
Steam and ash rise from a crater atop Mount Ontake on September 29, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
JSDF soldiers and firefighters conduct rescue operations on September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Kyodo)
A Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force CH-47 helicopter sits on the ground as Mount Ontake continues to erupt in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, on September 30, 2014. Increased seismic activity raised concern Tuesday about the possibility of another eruption at a Japanese volcano where dozens people were killed, forcing rescuers to suspend plans to try to recover at least two dozen bodies still near the summit. (AP Photo/Koji Ueda)
Japan volcano shoots rock & ash on Mount Ontake - BBC News
Japan's Mt Ontake volcano erupts, kills one and over 32 seriously injured
