Hong Kong's Christmas celebrations were marred by sporadic clashes between police and pro-democracy activists on Wednesday as the city's pro-Beijing leader said the festive season was being "ruined" by demonstrators.
Police used pepper spray and tear gas as activists held small flash mob protests in malls and multiple districts across the city.
In Mong Kok, an area that has seen frequent clashes over the last six months, police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse crowds that were heckling officers, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Pepper spray was also used in at least two malls as police and protesters clashed. Multiple young protesters were detained, some by plainclothes police who had mixed with the crowds, according to live local TV broadcasts.
The protests have recently turned confrontational with the holiday season on. Not long ago, these protests had become peaceful after many pro-democracy candidates had won district elections.
A 28-year-old protestor told a leading newspaper, “Confrontation is expected, it doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas.” He said that the protestors are disappointed that the government still hasn’t responded to any of their demands.
Swathes of the population are seething against Beijing's rule and the semi-autonomous city's administration as they push for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability. The months of protest have helped tip a financial hub already battered by the US-China trade war into a recession and intensified political polarisation.
The protests were initially sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland. They have since morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule, with spiralling fears that the city is losing some of its unique liberties.
Among the demands being made by protesters is an inquiry into the police, amnesty for the more than 6,000 people arrested and the right to elect Hong Kong's leader. The city's many malls have become regular protest venues as demonstrators try to cause economic disruption.
Online forums have called for pop-up protests over the Christmas and New Year period targeting shopping districts. The recent fall-off in violence came after hundreds of hardcore protesters were arrested during a university campus siege and after the pro-democracy camp won a landslide in local elections last month.
With inputs from Agencies.
