‘It was through the sewers or surrender to Hong Kong riot police – I had no choice’

Desperate, traumatised and hungry after days locked inside Hong Kong’s last besieged university, the young woman in her 20s looked down into the narrow pipes of the sewers. 

The smell of effluent drifting up was not enough to put her off a last-ditch bid for freedom.

Riot police were closing in after students fortified the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus, now a totem of pro-democracy demonstrations which have shaken the city for months.

For the woman known as K, who asked The Sunday Telegraph not to reveal her identity, there was no other choice.

Clad in the all black uniform of protesters, with a mask for good measure, she disappeared through the manhole and risked her life crawling…

To continue reading this article

Start your free trial of Premium

  • Access all Premium articles 
  • Subscriber-only events 
  • Cancel any time

Free for 30 days

then only £2 per week

Try Premium

Access one Premium article per week

Register for free

We’re glad you’re enjoying
The Telegraph
Register or subscribe to continue reading
Already a subscriber?

Log in

Register
Free

  • One free Premium article per week
  • Newsletters and daily briefings

Register

Subscribe
30 days free, then £2 per week

  • Unlimited access to Premium articles
  • Subscriber-only newsletters
  • Exclusive subscriber events and rewards
  • The daily newspaper on your smartphone or tablet

Start free trial

Want to learn more?
View subscription options

Login

Print subscriber? Click here

Click Here: cheap nrl jerseys