- 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...
Because China.