After 11 weeks of demonstrations, weary protesters fear only their ebbing stamina or Chinese troops will break the stalemate

Ellie Lau, a 21-year-old student, was one of thousands of protesters who flooded Hong Kong’s airport this week. There, she and a friend had an uneasy conversation about the future.

As they joined throngs of demonstrators dressed in black sitting on the floor of the arrivals hall they talked about exhaustion and uncertainty – emotions they have suppressed over the past two months of protesting against their government.

“It’s already very hard for us. All the people I know are all very tired physically and mentally. We don’t know what we should or can do,” says Lau. “I will ask myself, ‘What else can I give up for this movement for the future of Hong Kong?’ We don’t usually talk about it, but we are all thinking about it.”

Hong Kong’s biggest political crisis for decades, triggered in June by its determination to push ahead with an extradition bill that to many represented Beijing’s tightening hold over the city, has reached a stalemate. Campaigners are frustrated that weeks of protests – including peaceful rallies, mass disruptions of the city and violent clashes – have failed to force the government to respond.

Quick guide What are the Hong Kong protests about? Show Hide Why are people protesting? The protests were triggered by a controversial bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where the Communist party controls the courts, but have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement. Public anger – fuelled by the aggressive tactics used by the police against demonstrators – has collided with years of frustration over worsening inequality and the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive, densely populated cities. The protest movement was given fresh impetus on 21 July when gangs of men attacked protesters and commuters at a mass transit station – while authorities seemingly did little to intervene. Underlying the movement is a push for full democracy in the city, whose leader is chosen by a committee dominated by a pro-Beijing establishment rather than by direct elections.

Protesters have vowed to keep their movement going until their core demands are met, such as the resignation of the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested and a permanent withdrawal of the bill. Lam announced on 4 September that she was withdrawing the bill. Why were people so angry about the extradition bill? Beijing’s influence over Hong Kong has grown in recent years, as activists have been jailed and pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified from running or holding office. Independent booksellers have disappeared from the city, before reappearing in mainland China facing charges. Under the terms of the agreement by which the former British colony was returned to Chinese control in 1997, the semi-autonomous region was meant to maintain a “high degree of autonomy” through an independent judiciary, a free press and an open market economy, a framework known as “one country, two systems”. The extradition bill was seen as an attempt to undermine this and to give Beijing the ability to try pro-democracy activists under the judicial system of the mainland. How have the authorities responded? Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation. Meanwhile police have violently clashed directly with protesters, repeatedly firing teargas and rubber bullets. Beijing has ramped up its accusations that foreign countries are “fanning the fire” of unrest in the city. China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi has ordered the US to “immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs in any form”. Lily Kuo and Verna Yu in Hong Kong

City authorities, backed by Beijing, have cracked down harder. Police have arrested more than 700 people and the Chinese military have held warning exercises along the border. Yet people continue to come out in droves.

As the protests enter their 11th consecutive week and resolution appears even more remote, the question of what happens next looms.

“People don’t quite know what is coming. Each weekend seems like it could be decisive,” said Kong Tsung-gan, a writer and activist. “I know people who say they’ve been waking up in recent days and the first thing they wonder is whether the troops have moved in and declared martial law. The rational side of them says that’s probably not the case, but it’s a feeling of foreboding.”

Hong Kong, a former British colony returned to Chinese control in 1997, is meant to maintain certain freedoms under a treaty framework known as “one country, two systems”. But critics say those freedoms, including of speech, are being eroded as Beijing exerts more control.

Protesters are demanding a permanent withdrawal of the now suspended bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China, as well as an independent inquiry into the use of police force. Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam has refused the demands, insisting that the government has already responded to public opposition to the bill.

Play Video 1:56 Hong Kong: airport protests descend into violence – video report

Observers say the coming days could mark a turning point, a gauge of momentum as residents, protesters and police have been pushed to their limits. On Sunday people were preparing to attend a mass march which has been banned by police – the third consecutive day of mass rallies and the largest protest in weeks.

On Friday thousands of demonstrators dressed in black filled Chater Garden, a public square in central Hong Kong, to call on the international community for help. On Saturday teachers filled the same square to protest at police brutality against students.

Tensions reached a new level last week. Police dressed as protesters arrested demonstrators last weekend, wrestling them to the ground and beating them with batons. A first aid volunteer was reportedly blinded in one eye by a bean bag round fired by police. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a public transit station, shooting protesters at close range.

The protesters responded by paralysing Hong Kong airport on Monday and Tuesday, blocking passengers from checking into their flights and clashing with police. In one instance, demonstrators surrounded a police officer, beating him with his own baton until he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the crowd.

In scenes prompting widespread criticism, another group tied down two men suspected of being spies and blocked emergency services from reaching one who had collapsed. On Tuesday Lam asked protesters to think of their city. “Do you wish to push it into an abyss and smash it into pieces?” she asked, close to tears.

The current deadlock and heightened violence has prompted a moment of re-evaluation and for some soul-searching. On online forums, protesters are reminding each other to remember their original purpose. Others have called for a code of conduct for dealing with suspected spies in the future. Some went to the airport, bowing their heads to passing travellers and holding up written apologies.

“They have already done what they did. What can we do aside from remind ourselves what we are doing and continue?” says Lau.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chinese armoured vehicles and troop trucks parked outside the Shenzhen Bay stadium. Photograph: Dake Kang/AP

Protesters, divided in two camps known as the “fighters” who believe disruption and force are necessary to force the government to respond and a group known as the “peaceful, rational and non-violent”, have largely agreed to let the peaceful camp take the reins for the weekend.

Sunday’s protest was meant to be a return to earlier peaceful methods, aiming to show the protests still have broad support from society.

“This Sunday should be another million-strong march. Hong Kong people can’t be defeated, Hongkongers soldier on,” Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy politician, wrote on Facebook.

As views over what to do next diverge, demonstrators are trying new forms of protest.

Last week, protesters withdrew money en masse from cashpoints in the hope of destabilising the banking system. Medical workers rallied at hospitals and more than 300 civil servants issued a second letter condemning their government. Secondary school pupils have pledged to boycott classes a day a week when school resumes next month.

“Now citizens are just trying to bring out as much creativity as we can,” said Elizabeth Yu, 26, a musician and teacher who was at Friday’s rally. “Sometimes I feel like it makes us lose focus but at the same time this shows the diversity of citizens who are trying to speak out.”

Yu, like many, is worried about how much longer the protests can be sustained. “The protest to me now is like a pot of boiling water, the steam is hot. The only problem is when the water is all boiled out,” she said.

The protest is like a pot of boiling water, the steam is hot. The only problem is when the water is all boiled out Elizabeth Yu, musician

Others are focusing on lobbying other countries to help break the stalemate. Demonstrators have organised rallies in Taiwan, Japan, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US to coincide with this weekend’s protests. British and American citizens were urged at Friday’s rally to call on their governments to condemn or sanction Beijing and the Hong Kong government.

In a video broadcast at the rally, Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party, said: “The UK must not sit idly by as Hongkongers lose their rights and freedoms.” He called on the British government to “scope out the steps it can take” to apply pressure.

Experts say a growing international response could make a difference. Reacting to police tactics last weekend, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday that it had seen “credible evidence” that Hong Kong law enforcement was violating international norms. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to treat Hong Kong “humanely” and suggested Xi meet Hong Kong protesters.

“It has gotten more complicated in that it is no longer a domestic issue. Over the last week, the whole contest has suddenly become much more international,” said Ma Ngok, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

According to Ma, international pressure may restrain Beijing, which has described the protesters as “near terrorists” looking to foment a “colour revolution,” language that prompted concerns of a violent crackdown, reminiscent of the crushing of protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Play Video 1:20 China's ambassador to UK says Beijing 'will not sit on its hands' over Hong Kong protests – video

“I think Beijing may also be re-evaluating its strategy because of all these responses. I think they are constrained by not being able to further raise the level of violence by the police,” he said.

Some analysts believe the protests face a deadline of 1 October, when China celebrates 70 years since the People’s Republic of China was founded. Protesters also see this as their last chance to put pressure on the central government, eager to end the unrest before the politically significant anniversary.

Whether the protests dissipate or are put down, authorities face a long-term problem.

“The Chinese communist party [CCP] has lost Hong Kong for the foreseeable future. Not only that, but the people who represent the future, the young people, are the ones most opposed to the CCP,” said Kong. “It can hold on to Hong Kong but it can’t control Hong Kong.”

For Lau, who plans to continue for as long as she can, the answer is clear. “We can’t stop. For those who sacrificed, not just those who were injured but those arrested and charged, those who have given their life blood and future or relationship with family – we have to continue for them.”