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FILE - In this Monday, June 10, 2019, file photo, police officers use pepper spray against protesters in a rally against the proposed amendments to the extradition law at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed _ and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

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In this Sunday, July 14, 2019, photo, protesters wearing protection gears as they prepare to face-off with policemen on a street in Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed _ and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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In this Sunday, July 14, 2019, photo, riot policemen use shields to protect themselves from things thrown by protesters during a demonstration in Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed _ and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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In this Sunday, July 14, 2019, photo, riot policemen move in to disperse the protesters inside a shopping mall in Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed _ and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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In this Sunday, July 14, 2019, photo, protesters throw umbrellas toward policemen during a crash inside a shopping mall in Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed _ and the role of the Chinese government in the city’s affairs. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong protests challenge China with no end in sight

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 6:13 AM ET Jul. 16, 2019

HONG KONG (AP) — Colin Wong has come to know the sting of pepper spray well.

After more than a month of demonstrations in Hong Kong's sweltering heat, memories of the burning sensation are a constant reminder of what protesters call an excessive use of force by police. Each time he felt the now-familiar sting, Wong was more determined to not back down.

What began as a protest against an extradition bill has ballooned into a fundamental challenge to the way Hong Kong is governed — and the role of the Chinese government in the city's affairs. "Hong Kong is not China" has become a refrain of the movement in what is a Chinese territory, but with its own laws and a separate legal system under a "one country, two systems" framework.