Hong Kong protesters defy Beijing call for democracy

HONG KONG: Hong Kong democracy protesters defied volleys of tear gas and police baton charges to stand firm in the center of the global financial hub on Monday, one of the biggest political challenges for Beijing since the Tiananmen Square crackdown 25 years ago.
The ranks of democracy protesters who have paralyzed parts of the city swelled into their tens of thousands, digging in for another night of confrontation with police in their campaign for free elections.
In the worst unrest since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997, demonstrators fought hours of running battles with police Sunday night, choking on clouds of tear gas as officers attempted to suppress the crowds.
China wagged its finger at the student protesters, and warned against any foreign interference as they massed again in business and tourist districts of the city in the late afternoon.
“Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying defiantly told a news briefing in Beijing.
The unrest, the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997, sent white clouds of gas wafting among some of the world’s most valuable office towers and shopping malls before riot police suddenly withdrew around lunchtime on Monday, after three nights of confrontation.
China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates, but China recently announced that it would not go that far.
Police said 41 people have been injured, including 12 officers in the past few days, and 78 arrests made for offenses ranging from forcible entry into government premises, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct in public place and assaulting public officers.
Analysts said it was difficult to predict what might happen next, with the protesters pitted against a Beijing leadership that brooks no dissent on the mainland.
As riot police withdrew on Monday, weary protesters slept beside roads or sheltered from the sun beneath umbrellas, which have become a symbol of what some are calling the “Umbrella Revolution”. In addition to protection from the elements, umbrellas have been used as flimsy shields against pepper spray.