HONG KONG--Students who tried to stand up for their rights against Beijing's heavy-handed dealings with Hong Kong are still traumatized by the outcome of street protests a year ago that led police to fire on the young protesters.

Many of them still bear the physical and psychological scars of the upheavals that galvanized the world and remain despondent about this free-wheeling territory's future.

Beijing's decision to extradite Hong Kong defendants to stand trial in mainland China ignited widespread protests that shut down the former British colony.

A 19-year-old senior high school student who took part in protests at a suburban shopping arcade was shot at point-blank range, and for a while his survival chances stood in the balance.

Eventually, he was able to resume near-normal daily activities but is still unable to play basketball because he fears any physical contact might revive jarring back pain that plagued him in the initial months after he was shot.

The student said he worries that his continuing health issues might affect his chances of landing a job in the future.

Reflecting on Oct. 1, 2019, the day he was shot, the student said, “I felt as though the world had suddenly come to a stop.”

The decision by the police to open fire on the young student protesters created a decisive gap between law enforcement authorities and ordinary citizens pressing for greater democracy and more freedoms.

Touching upon the recently implemented state security law, the student said, “Hong Kong will one day be swallowed up by China and will turn from a special administrative region into simply Hong Kong city.”

He credited his survival to video footage taken by university students who formed their own internet media.

“If it wasn’t for that reporter, I would have been left unattended on the street and probably would have died,” the student said.

Under more stringent measures being implemented by the Hong Kong government, student reporters will no longer be allowed to cover demonstrations.

That decision, made earlier this month, suggests that the authorities in Hong Kong will not tolerate any acts that prove inconvenient to Beijing.

The student who was nearly killed was arrested on suspicion of causing a riot and attacking the police, even though he was the one who was shot.

“I felt strong pressure on both my physical and psychological health,” the student now says.

A new school year started at the student’s senior high school in September, but he is repeating his second year because he lacked sufficient attendance records due to his court appearances and need to undergo medical treatment for his injuries.

A year later, he said that the events of October 2019 had changed numerous lives. He noted that many of his friends are now thinking about attending university in the West because they see little future remaining in Hong Kong.

A key reason is the state security maintenance law that carries draconian penalties for Hong Kong residents who dare to resist the authorities.

“I want to show that we continue to demand our freedom and democratic rights by continuing with protests in the future,” the student said.

The young man said he feels a desperate need to protect the freedoms that were the hallmark of Hong Kong in comparison to mainland China, but admits that he still does not know how to go about standing up to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities bent on tightening their clampdowns on demonstrators.

Another 21-year-old student was shot in the abdomen during protests on Nov. 11, 2019.

Even though the student was at one time listed in serious condition, he was also detained by police on grounds he tried to seize an officer's handgun and was shot in self-defense.

Yet again independent media captured video footage of the unarmed student approaching police officers.

The student said, “The police tried to label me as an insurrectionist, but the footage clearly shows that is not true.”

While the video taken by independent media created by students covered areas that mainstream media could not reach, the decision in September by police to only allow reporters from about 200 media organizations registered with the Hong Kong government is simply another step to further limit freedom of the press.