Protests, clashes and lack of trust: the new normal for Hong Kong

One of the world's busiest cities has grown unusually quiet as more and more people stay at home

It was the third night in a row that Biyanca Chu's neighbourhood, Wong Tai Sin, a working-class residential district in Hong Kong, had been taken over by police and protesters. The ground was littered with plastic bottles, broken umbrellas and teargas canisters as the two sides faced off.

Chu, 22, slight in an all-black outfit, climbed over a road barrier, took off her baseball cap and slipped a gas mask on. "Are you ready to go to the frontline?" she asked her companions and they disappeared. Within half an hour, the police began firing rounds of teargas and rubber bullets, charging and making arrests, until the group dispersed.