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College freshman Joshua Wong skipped his campus tour last month to conduct an orientation of his own: leading hundreds of young people marching for greater democracy in Hong Kong.

This week, the 17-year-old churchgoer will be among thousands of students boycotting classes to protest an electoral proposal from Chinas Communist Party that they say doesnt grant a genuine choice in the citys first leadership election.

Universal suffrage is the mission of this era and this era belongs to the young people, so let the young ones complete the mission, says Wong, founder of student activist group Scholarism, which is seeking to maintain momentum for a broader opposition movement that has seen support fizzling. Young people will always be the pioneers.

Children as young as 14 have been arrested for civil disobedience as their involvement in the pro-democracy movement polarizes churches, universities and families. Though many were just toddlers when Hong Kong returned to China after more than 150 years of British colonial rule, they resent Chinas increasingly assertive control of the city and greater integration with the mainland they see drying up opportunities that their parents enjoyed.

A man stands in front of sign that interprets as disobedience during a rally organized by activist group Occupy Central With Love and Peace in Hong Kong, China, on Aug. 31, 2014. Close

A man stands in front of sign that interprets as disobedience during a rally organized... Read More

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A man stands in front of sign that interprets as disobedience during a rally organized by activist group Occupy Central With Love and Peace in Hong Kong, China, on Aug. 31, 2014.

The young people are frustrated, said Hung Ho-fung, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who focuses on nationalism and the political economy in China and Hong Kong. Theres not much space for them, not only politically, but to try businesses and other things in their careers.

While 20 years ago young people could open a bookstore or a cafe, soaring rent and property prices have made that impossible, and the economy is dominated by finance and tourism, Hung said.

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Hong Kong Students Lead Democracy Fight With Boycotts, Arrests