Joshua Wong

Jailed Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong spent his 21st birthday in court Friday where he was found guilty of contempt for obstructing the clearance of a major encampment during the city’s 2014 mass Umbrella rallies.

Just who runs protests in places like Kiev and Hong Kong? It’s not an easy question to answer, but that doesn’t mean the protest movements in those places lack energy or direction. In fact, their loose structure may be a new model for political organization.

After weeks of stagnation and clashes with police over the weekend, three of Hong Kong’s top student protest leader say they’ll go on a hunger strike to force negotiations with the city government. But it may simply be a sign of the protest movement’s waning influence.

She isn’t old enough to get a driver’s license or vote. But at 17, Agnes Chow is already a political player in Hong Kong. As one of the leaders of an influential student activist group called Scholarism, Chow is part of a new political generation making its mark in the Chinese territory.

Several of the most well-known leaders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy campaign are also devout Christians. The same goes for many of the protesters in the streets, who can be seen at protests praying and singing religious hymns. But the Christian faithful are divided over the issues at stake.