A sense of weary calm was returning to downtown Hong Kong last night, with only a few hundred of the tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters that brought the city centre to a standstill for more than a week remaining on the streets. But although the crowds have dwindled, the sense of achievement felt by many of the students who spearheaded the protests has not.

“This movement is creating a new history of Hong Kong,” says Agnes Chow, a member of Scholarism, one of two student groups that led the protests. “Many Hong Kong people [now] accept using civil disobedience.”

Occupy, Hong Kong’s protest movement, sprang up in response to China’s plan for universal suffrage in elections for the territory’s chief executive. The protesters back the “one person, one vote” offer on the table but are angry that candidates will be chosen by a committee of mostly Beijing loyalists.