A University of Waterloo alumnus is among those giving aid to anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

The former student, who CBC is identifying only as 'Ray' because he fears for his safety, said he brings supplies to protesters who are on the front lines of violent clashes with riot police.

"Sometimes they need water, they need medical supplies, they need umbrellas to protect them from [rubber] bullets, they need helmets, they need masks, the gas masks. I'll deliver to them," said Ray.

A graduate from the University of Waterloo, Ray told CBC News that he has Canadian citizenship but has been living in Hong Kong for more than a decade.

"I want people to know about the police brutality in Hong Kong," said Ray.

He told CBC News that riot police, who previously used batons to strike protesters in the arms and legs, are now using batons to hit people in the head.

"When they restrain a person already on the ground, they kneel on their chest. They kneel on their neck, to stop them from breathing," he said.

A protester is detained by riot police while attempting to leave the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) during clashes with police in Hong Kong, China November 18, 2019. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Protests began in June over a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. Activists saw the legislation as part of a continuing erosion of rights and freedoms that Hong Kong was promised it could keep when Britain returned for former colony to China in 1997.

The Hong Kong government withdrew the bill months later, but clashes between protesters and police have become more violent. Protesters have also been increasing their demands, calling for an independent investigation into police suppression of the demonstrations and fully democratic elections.

"We rely on other countries to say something, to put a stop on it," said Ray.

Student from Hong Kong has mixed feelings

Another University of Waterloo student, born and raised in Hong Kong but who immigrated to Canada as a child, echoed a similar sentiment.

CBC News is also not revealing his identity, to help protect his family and friends still in Hong Kong.

"A couple of my friends are first aid medics on the front line. I also have friends who are the black shirts – on the violent side, shall we say – as well," he said

Face masks, black shirts, and umbrellas – particularly yellow umbrellas – have become the symbols of the democracy movement.

A barricade is seen leftover inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

"The protesters are here to protect the Hong Kong constitution, to protect the one country, two system policy," the student explained.

He has mixed feelings about the movement. He said he's happy to see Hong Kong recognizing a threat to its independence, but sad that he's on the other side of the world.

"I'm all the way in Canada, and there's not much I can do. I really want to go back and join the fight," he explained.

The student wants to see a peaceful resolution between protesters and the government, but doesn't condemn the destruction of buildings and university campuses – which have become a battle ground.

"It's the institution that matters ... not a building," he said. "If we become zombies, if we lost the freedom to think critically, it doesn't matter if you have a sky-rise – they will crumble down."

Exchange students heading home

Matthew Grant, a spokesperson for the University of Waterloo, said the university had 37 exchange students and 10 co-op students in Hong Kong.

"We can confirm that [we've] been in touch with the students and the vast majority of them are either back in Canada or are on their way back to Canada," he said in an email.

In a statement on Thursday, Laurier University said all six of its exchange students in Hong Kong had left the territory and that it had cancelled exchanges to Hong Kong that were scheduled for the winter term.