Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Aug, 2019 ) :China on Monday slammed violent protesters in Hong Kong who had thrown petrol bombs at police officers and linked them to "terrorism", as Beijing ramps up its rhetoric against pro-democracy demonstrations in the financial hub.

"Hong Kong's radical demonstrators have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers, which already constitutes a serious violent crime, and also shows the first signs of terrorism emerging," said Yang Guang, spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

"This wantonly tramples on Hong Kong's rule of law and social order," he said at a press briefing in Beijing.

Yang's remarks came a day after thousands of pro-democracy protesters defied warnings from authorities to hit the streets for the 10th weekend in a row.

Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas Sunday at protestors after denying their requests for permits to stage a march. </s> BEIJING: China on Monday (Aug 12) slammed violent protesters in Hong Kong who had thrown petrol bombs at police officers and linked them to "terrorism", as Beijing ramps up its rhetoric against pro-democracy demonstrations in the financial hub.

"Hong Kong's radical demonstrators have repeatedly used extremely dangerous tools to attack police officers, which already constitutes a serious violent crime, and also shows the first signs of terrorism emerging," said Yang Guang, spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

"This wantonly tramples on Hong Kong's rule of law and social order," he said at a press briefing in Beijing.

Yang's remarks came a day after thousands of pro-democracy protesters defied warnings from authorities to hit the streets for the 10th weekend in a row.

Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas Sunday at protestors after denying their requests for permits to stage a march.

But Yang focused on the violent behavior of a "tiny minority", which he condemned as "a serious challenge to Hong Kong's prosperity and stability."

The two-month crisis, which was triggered by opposition to a planned extradition law, has morphed into a wider movement for democratic reform and a halt to eroding freedoms.

It is the biggest threat to Beijing's rule of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city since its handover from Britain in 1997 - and has drawn repeated criticism but no forceful actions yet from the central Chinese government. </s> Hong Kong authorities stepped up security and fired tear gas around China’s main representative office on Sunday as several protests broke out, with anger among the crowds simmering over what many see as an increasing cycle of violence against them.

Protests over the past two months spearheaded by pro-democracy activists against a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to stand trial in courts in mainland China have grown increasingly violent.

A march on Saturday against a violent assault the previous weekend, by suspected triad gang members, ended in violent turmoil as riot police waded in to disperse crowds.

On Sunday, a gathering in a park in the city’s central business district began spilling into surrounding roads and black-clad protesters set off in several directions, clogging up major thoroughfares.

Thousands of people headed east, towards the shopping district of Causeway Bay, while another large contingent headed west, towards the Chinese government’s representative office, known as the Central Government Liaison Office.

There, hundreds of riot police blocked activists from advancing towards the building, which had been heavily fortified with water-filled plastic barricades. A clear plastic shield had been erected around a national emblem above its front doors.

Police fired multiple rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in a densely populated neighbourhood nearby. The protesters, wearing helmets, gas masks and body armour responded with bricks, eggs and other objects, hunkering behind makeshift barricades and umbrellas. Many hit metallic surfaces with sticks to create a loud beat that sounded down the streets.

The office has become a focus for the anger of protesters alarmed by what many see as Beijing’s increasing control despite guarantees of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” formula, struck when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Last Sunday, protesters took police by surprise with a swoop on the Liaison Office, scrawling graffiti and throwing paint bombs at walls, the national emblem and a plaque. Chinese officials described the vandalism as a challenge to the central government’s authority which would not be tolerated.

“Everyone knows very well that the current Hong Kong government has been controlled by some outside forces, like those in the Liaison Office,” said an activist surnamed Chan.

“Now Hong Kong doesn’t even have basic freedom of assembly. We have come here to make a symbolic expression.”

China denies interfering in Hong Kong and has warned that the violent protests over the proposed legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China were an “undisguised challenge” to the formula under which it is ruled.

Many of the marchers on Sunday chanted slogans against the police. Some held up banners reading: “We rise as one, we fight as one” and “Stop violence”.

“I have been to every protest and I never wear a mask,” said Phong Luk, wearing a Spider Man suit to match one worn by his 6-year-old son.

“I’m doing nothing wrong. It is those in power that are wrong … At this point, there is nothing to be done except for Carrie Lam to step down, because she obviously cannot rule.”

The protests have brought the most serious political crisis to Hong Kong since it returned to China.

What began as a movement to oppose the extradition law that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial, has taken on broader demands including the resignation of Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam, calls for full democracy and an independent inquiry into what some say has been excessive police force against protesters.

The protests are also one of the most direct challenges to the authority of China’s President Xi Jinping.

The protests appeared to be getting more organised, as well as more violent. On Sunday, activists said they hoped to stretch the police by splitting up their marches.

“The police usually surround us and we have nowhere to go. So we adjust our strategy this time. This is much more fluid and flexible,” said protester Edward Ng. </s> HONG KONG (AP) — Clashes involving Hong Kong’s protest movement escalated violently late Sunday as police launched tear gas at protesters who didn’t disband after a massive march and subway riders were attacked by masked assailants who appeared to target the pro-democracy demonstrators.

The firing of tear gas was the latest confrontation between police and protesters who have taken to the streets for almost two months to fight a proposed extradition bill and call for electoral reforms in the Chinese territory.

The march had been peaceful when it reached its police-designated end point in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district in the late afternoon, but thousands continued onward, at various points occupying key government and business districts. They then headed for the Liaison Office, which represents China’s Communist Party-led central government within the city.

Protesters threw eggs at the building and spray-painted its surrounding surveillance cameras. China’s national emblem, which adorns the front of the Liaison Office, was splattered with black ink. The Liaison Office said in comments published on Chinese state media that the acts “openly challenged the authority of the central government and touched the bottom line of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.”

Later, police threw tear gas canisters at protesters to try to disperse them. Protesters scattered, some heading back in the direction of a key business and retail district. Police remained in place, protecting themselves with shields. Police said on their official social media accounts that protesters threw bricks and petrol bombs at them and attacked the Central police station.

Hong Kong media released video showing masked assailants attacking commuters in a subway station. Among those attacked were protesters clad in their trademark black clothing and yellow hard hats.

The attackers, meanwhile, were dressed in white with black masks pulled over their heads. On Saturday, demonstrators wore white at a counter-rally in support of police.

Footage from Apple Daily showed the attackers using umbrellas to beat people in the station and inside a subway car. Subway passengers filmed by Stand News and iCABLE angrily accused police officers of not intervening in the attack. Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho said on Facebook that she suffered minor injuries to her hands and shoulder, and was dizzy from a head injury. The South China Morning Post reported several people were bleeding following the attacks, and that seven people were sent to the hospital.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement shortly after midnight that commuters were attacked at a subway station in the city’s Yuen Long neighborhood, leading to “confrontations and injuries.”

The statement also said some “radical protesters initiated a series of violent acts … despite repeated warnings” by police. They said the acts included hurling petrol bombs, setting fires and throwing bricks.

“This is absolutely unacceptable to Hong Kong as a society that observes the rule of law,” the statement said, referring to the acts of the subway attackers as well as the protesters.

Organizers said 430,000 people participated in Sunday’s march, while police said there were 138,000 during the procession’s “peak period.”

Large protests began early last month in opposition to a contentious extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to stand trial in mainland China, where critics say their rights would be compromised.

Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, has declared the extradition bill dead, but protesters are dissatisfied with her refusal to formally withdraw the legislation. Some are also calling for her to resign amid growing concerns about the steady erosion of civil rights in the city.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997 and was promised certain democratic freedoms under the framework of “one country, two systems.” Fueled by anger at Lam and an enduring distrust of the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing, the current demonstrations have ballooned into calls for electoral reform and an investigation into alleged police brutality at the protests.

Walking in sweltering heat, protesters dressed in black kicked off Sunday’s march at a public park, carrying a large banner that read “Independent Inquiry for Rule of Law.”

“Free Hong Kong! Democracy now!” the protesters chanted, forming a dense procession through Wan Chai as they were joined by others who had been waiting in side streets.

“The government has never responded to our demands,” said Karen Yu, a 52-year-old Hong Kong resident who has attended four protests since they started. “No matter how much the government can do, at least it should come out and respond to us directly.”

Protesters repeated the five points of their “manifesto,” which was first introduced when a small group of them stormed the legislature earlier this month. Their main demands include universal suffrage — direct voting rights for all Hong Kong residents — as well as dropping charges against anti-extradition protesters, withdrawing the characterization of a clash between police and protesters as a “riot” and dissolving the Legislative Council.

Protesters read the demands aloud in both English and Cantonese in videos released Saturday.

“We did not want to embark on this path of resisting tyranny with our bare bodies,” they said, “but for too long, our government has lied and deceived, and refused to respond to the demands of the people.”

While the demonstrations have been largely peaceful, some confrontations between police and protesters have turned violent. In Sha Tin district the previous Sunday, they beat each other with umbrellas and bats inside a luxury shopping center. Demonstrators broke into the Legislative Council building on July 1 by moving past barricades and shattering windows.

On Friday, Hong Kong police discovered a stash of a powerful homemade explosive in a commercial building and arrested a man. Materials voicing opposition to the extradition bill were found at the site, local media said, but a police spokesman said no concrete link had been established and the investigation was continuing.

The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, condemned “radical extremists” who attacked the legislature and “trampled” on Hong Kong’s rule of law in a front-page column Sunday. The paper said the counter-rally Saturday intended to show support for the police reflected “mainstream public opinion” in Hong Kong.

Wang reported from Beijing. Associated Press news assistants Phoebe Lai, Nadia Lam and Chanwoo Bang in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> Commuters are reflected on a door panel of a subway train as they wait for the resumption of the services after being disrupted by protesters at Fortress Hill MTR station in Hong Kong, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. Protesters snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations. Subway and train operator MTR said Monday that service had been partially suspended on five lines because of a number of door obstruction incidents. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on the protests in Hong Kong (all times local):

An official says Hong Kong’s police are fully supported by the government and there is no need to deploy China’s military to cope with increasingly violent anti-government protests.

Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-cheung of the Police Public Relations Branch said Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other Hong Kong officials have stated the same on multiple occasions.

Kong told reporters at a daily briefing Monday that he personally believes there is no chance of a deployment of the People’s Liberation Army.

Speculation of an intervention by China’s military has been fueled in part by a slick publicity video it released last week showing troops firing tear gas and dealing with a mock street demonstration.

Kong said he doesn’t feel the police are being made scapegoats over the violence and are fulfilling their mandate to protect the community and maintain law and order.

Weeks of protests have demanded the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force against protesters and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong police have arrested 420 protesters since June 9 on charges including rioting, unlawful assembly, possessing offensive weapons and assaulting officers and obstructing police operations.

Police spokeswoman Yolanda Yu Hoi-kwan told reporters Monday that police have fired more than 300 non-lethal bullets and around 1,000 tear gas grenades.

Yu said 139 officers had been injured in clashes, with two still hospitalized with fractures.

She said violence has been escalating, with protesters using gasoline bombs and fire, including sending a trolley full of burning trash hurtling toward officers.

Protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Police have fired tear gas at a second location in Hong Kong as they face off with protesters at multiple locations in the city.

Protesters took over a major road outside the main government office on Monday, threw eggs and bricks at the building and punctured large water-filled barriers set up by police to keep them away.

Police responded with tear gas, but the protesters did not immediately disperse.

Earlier, police used tear gas on protesters in the Wong Tai Sin district.

The actions follow a weekend of clashes between protesters and police. The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Droves of protesters have filled public parks and squares in several Hong Kong districts to take part in a general strike.

Following a weekend of protests, demonstrators disrupted subways, air traffic and weekday activities Monday in an effort to bring more attention to their demands.

Hong Kong has seen pro-democracy protests for about two months.

Police in at least one district have used tear gas to disperse crowds.

Protesters dressed in black sat in the shade of office buildings in the city’s business district with open umbrellas and posters condemning the police as “gangsters.”

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she has no plans to resign over the civil unrest targeting her administration.

Lam said she took responsibility for problems as chief executive and was determined to see the situation resolved.

She spoke at a news conference Monday as protesters blocked morning trains and called for a citywide strike. More than 100 flights were canceled.

Lam said the latest protests had moved from extradition legislation, which her administration had shelved, and now were operating with “ulterior motives” targeting Hong Kong’s prosperity and security.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says recent protests have pushed the city to the “verge of a very dangerous situation” but the government will be resolute in ensuring public order.

A tired looking Lam delivered the remarks at a news conference Monday morning that follows weeks of daily marches and demonstrations that have frequently devolved into violent confrontations, with police deploying tear gas rubber bullets and other crowd control measures.

Lam said the violence and disruptions were creating anxiety among citizens and now was the time to set aside differences and “rally together.”

Protesters were blocking trains during the morning rush hour and called for a citywide strike by workers. More than 100 flights were cancelled at the city’s airport, and Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.

Hong Kong’s leader will speak to the media as protesters block morning trains and call for a citywide strike by workers.

The office of Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday.

The strike has already taken hold at the airport, where 100 flights have been cancelled. Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.

Protesters used a now-familiar tactic of blocking train doors from closing to disrupt the morning commute.

The actions follow a weekend of clashes between protesters and police. The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong media say more than 100 flights have been cancelled at the city’s airport as a general strike called to support pro-democracy protests gets underway.

Public broadcaster RTHK said Monday that domestic carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines were the most affected.

A citywide strike and demonstrations in seven districts in Hong Kong have been called for Monday afternoon. They follow a weekend of clashes with police on the streets.

Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature.

Protesters in Hong Kong have snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations.

Subway and train operator MTR said Monday that service had been partially suspended on four lines because of a number of door obstruction incidents.

It’s the third time in three weeks that protesters have disrupted train service. The action followed a weekend of clashes with police on the streets and ahead of a general strike and more demonstrations called for Monday afternoon.

Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature. </s> Defiant pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong were readying for another big rally later Sunday, a day after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in the latest violent confrontation that has plunged the financial hub deeper into crisis.

A town near the border with China descended into chaos on Saturday as police battled protesters holding a banned rally against suspected pro-government triad gangs who beat up democracy demonstrators there last weekend.

Riot police used tear gas throughout the afternoon and evening in Yuen Long after tense standoffs with protesters, some of whom were throwing projectiles and had surrounded a police van.

Rubber bullets were fired later in the clashes which ended when riot police baton charged the last remaining demonstrators inside the town's metro station, leaving pools of blood in the same concourse where the suspected triads had attacked the previous weekend.

Police said 11 arrests were made. Hospital authorities said 24 people were injured, most of whom have been discharged but two remained in serious condition.

Saturday's violence compounds the political crisis engulfing the city's pro-Beijing leadership who are seemingly unable, or unwilling, to end the chaos.

A rally is planned on the main island on Sunday afternoon.

Police have given permission for a static protest in a park but have banned a proposed march through the city, ratcheting up the likelihood of renewed clashes.

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history after millions of demonstrators took to the streets and sporadic violent confrontations erupted between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The demonstrations over the last seven weeks were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms.

Yet the weeks of unprecedented protests with huge turnouts -- as well as frequent clashes and the sacking of parliament -- have had little luck persuading Beijing or Hong Kong's leaders.

Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations in the last two weeks, but has left it to the city's semi-autonomous government to deal with the situation.

City leader Carrie Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill.

Her administration has faced down weeks of public anger.

But the tensions ratcheted up after last week's attack by a pro-government mob in Yuen Long.

The town is in Hong Kong's rural New Territories where many of the surrounding villages are known for triad connections and their staunch support for the pro-Beijing establishment.

That brazen assault hospitalised at least 45 people. Police were heavily criticised for being too slow to respond to the violence, fuelling accusations of collusion or turning a blind eye to the pro-government mob -- allegations the force has denied.

In a rare move, police banned Saturday's rally saying they feared reprisal attacks against villagers from protesters, a decision that only heightened anger towards a force already perceived to be protecting pro-government aggressors.

Tens of thousands of people defied the ban on Saturday and began a peaceful rally.

But small groups of more hardcore protesters, many in helmets and carrying shields, confronted police outside the villages and accused them of protecting triads.

Tensions quickly rose with projectiles hurled. Soon tear gas rounds were arcing through the air and a now-familiar pattern of running battles between police and protesters began.

On one road, a parked Lexus that was found to have wooden sticks and clubs similar to those used in Sunday's attacks inside it -- as well as a Samurai-style sword -- had been trashed.

By late evening only some 200 protesters remained around the main station who were then charged by riot police. </s> HONG KONG: At least 45 people were injured, with one person in critical condition, after a group of masked men attacked anti-government protesters and commuters at a Hong Kong train station on Sunday night (Jul 21), according to the city's hospital authorities.



The group, many wielding sticks and clad in white T-shirts, flooded into a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in the rural Yuen Long district, storming a train and attacking passengers, according to footage taken by commuters and opposition lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting.



Footage from the attack broadcast live on Facebook showed people screaming as the men beat multiple protesters and journalists in the station, leaving pools of blood on the floor.

Critics rounded on the city's embattled police force, accusing officers of taking more than an hour to reach the station despite frantic calls from those under attack and then failing to arrest the armed men who stayed in the streets around the station into Monday morning.

Some men in white shirts were later filmed leaving the scene in cars with Chinese mainland number plates.

Lam, a pro-democracy lawmaker, was one of those wounded in the melee, sustaining lacerations to his face and arms. He criticised police for their response and accused "triad members" of being behind the attacks.

"Their very barbaric and violent acts have already completely violated the bottom line of Hong Kong's civilised society," he told reporters early on Monday.



"Is Hong Kong now allowing triads to do what they want, beating up people on the street with weapons?"



Nathan Law, a prominent pro-democracy activist, added on Twitter: "When the Chinese mobs are attacking the citizens, no law enforcement are there. Shame on the government."

The clashes have ratcheted up fears that the city's feared triad gangs are wading into the political conflict.

Yuen Long lies in the New Territories near the Chinese border where the criminal gangs and staunchly pro-Beijing rural committees remain influential.

Similar assaults by pro-government vigilantes against demonstrators during the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" protests were blamed on triads.

READ: Tear gas and rubber bullets fired as Hong Kong returns to chaos



As the mob rampage unfolded in Yuen Long, police were simultaneously battling hardcore democracy protesters in the middle of the city's commercial district.

Riot officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti-government protesters, hours after China's office in the city was daubed with eggs and graffiti in a vivid rebuke to Beijing's rule.

Another 13 people were injured after the clashes on Hong Kong island, one seriously, the Hospital Authority said.

In a statement on Monday, police "strongly condemned" both the violent incidents in Yuen Long and Hong Kong island, and said they were investigating both cases. Police added no arrests had been made at the station or during a follow-up search of a nearby village.



Yau Nai-keung, Yuen Long assistant district police commander, told reporters that an initial police patrol had to wait for more reinforcements given a situation involving more than 100 people.

He added police saw no weapons when they arrived although eyewitnesses said they saw groups of men in white with poles and bamboo staves at a nearby village.



"We can't say you have a problem because you are dressed in white and we have to arrest you. We will treat them fairly no matter which camp they are in," Yau said.



Some police had been injured in the clashes after protesters hurled bricks, smoke grenades and petrol bombs, the statement said.

READ: What lies ahead for Hong Kong, a city on edge



Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history by weeks of marches and sporadic violent confrontations between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The initial protests were lit by a now-suspended Bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

But they have since evolved into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms, universal suffrage and a halt to sliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.

The city's parliament was trashed by protesters earlier this month, as Beijing's authority faces its most serious challenge since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997. </s> BBC China Correspondent Stephen McDonell tweeted: “Hong Kong riot police charging into a subway station pursuing pro-democracy activists and firing into them at point blank range. I’ve seen police being provoked here but I’m speechless. Carrie Lam says no police inquiry needed they’re investigating themselves.”

The Hong Kong Government responded on their official website condemning the “violence” of the protestors. The government statement said: “Violent protesters vandalised public property and blocked roads. “They also besieged police stations, aimed laser beams and hurled bricks to attack police officers.

Tensions erupted again as protestors employed innovative tactics to stay safe and evade the police as the city enters its 10th week of mass demonstrations and unrest. In the Wan Chai district, petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at riot police who responded by charging at protesters with batons. A number of people, including a police officer, were injured in the clashes. Police were also filmed firing rubber bullets at close range inside a subway station, while other officers were seen beating people with batons on an escalator.

Two months of demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition bill show no signs of abating, with both sides hardening their stance. Their demands have broadened to include calls for more democracy and for Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam to resign. On Sunday afternoon, a peaceful rally in the city's Victoria Park sparked clashes when protesters moved out of the area and marched along a major road despite a police ban. There were confrontations in several central districts and police used rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators. </s> Demonstrators gather at Chater Garden during a protest in the Central district of Hong Kong on Sunday, July 28, 2019.

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong demonstrators and police clashed for a second straight day as the city's China-backed government struggles to quell growing discontent and amid violent clashes that have marred the historic movement in recent weeks.

Police fired volleys of tear gas at hundreds of black-shirted protesters Sunday in Sai Ying Pun, a residential and business area where the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong is located. Protesters vandalized the liaison building last week, drawing stern warnings from Beijing and sparking fears that China's military would be called in to restore order.

A number of stores in the neighbourhood were closed ahead of the tense standoff, as riot police carrying shields marched in rows down a main street. Police said they used tear gas to disperse protesters who hurled bricks at officers, in a situation that was "drastically deteriorating."

Thousands of people initially gathered at centrally-located Chater Garden and marched without a definite plan toward the Admiralty, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas that were ground zero for previous mass rallies. They had chanted slogans including "liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time," "shame on police who beat people" and "return us the right to demonstrate."

The sprawling Sogo department store in Causeway Bay, owned by Lifestyle International Holdings, was closed though the situation in that area remained peaceful.

Sunday's march came the day after thousands of protesters descended on the suburb of Yuen Long near the Chinese border to condemn a mob attack against train commuters and demonstrators that shocked the city last weekend. A Friday sit-in at Hong Kong's international airport also drew thousands and underscored the economic risk of continued unrest.

Police on Saturday used batons, tear gas and pepper spray on people throwing stones and wielding metal rods. Thirteen people were arrested for their involvement in Yuen Long, Yolanda Yu, a senior superintendent at the Police Public Relations Branch, told reporters on Sunday. That march's organiser, Max Chung, had been taken into custody, she said.

Police early Sunday said the protesters disregarded the personal safety of residents and the public. The demonstrators used metal poles and self-made shields to attack officers and charge the cordon line - they even removed fences from roads to form road blocks, according to a police statement.

The former British colony's government is reeling from its biggest political crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997. The movement to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to the mainland has expanded to include calls for genuine universal suffrage, an inquiry into excessive force by police and demands for Chief Executive Carrie Lam's resignation.

The unrest has put pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping to find a solution. Beijing has so far backed Mrs Lam's government, in part to avoid setting a precedent in which street protests lead to political change. His government has also accused the US of supporting the demonstrations, a charge the Trump administration has denied.

"Even Carrie Lam's resignation and universal suffrage aren't going to resolve the crisis in Hong Kong. The truth is China is having a tighter and tighter grip on Hong Kong and our rights," said Oscar Cheung, an office worker in his twenties, as he stood in Chater Garden Sunday in a black shirt and sunglasses.

With the unrest showing no signs of ending, the city's reputation among investors as a stable environment for business has taken a hit. Local retailers are bracing for poor sales figures as demonstrations keep tourists out of shops and ordinary residents seek to avoid major malls that have been targeted.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a blog post Sunday that many local retail and catering businesses had experienced a "sharp decline" in business, warning that the longer the historic protests go on, the more pressure they will pile on small and medium-sized enterprises.
A spokesperson for China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office releases a statement accusing violent protesters that threw petrol bombs at Hong Kong Police officers of being "terrorists", saying that a violent minority within the pro-democracy movement poses "a serious challenge to Hong Kong's prosperity and stability".