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AFP Tear gas fired at chaotic Hong Kong democracy protests

Police fired tear gas as tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators brought parts of central Hong Kong to a standstill.

The dramatic escalation of protests have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese city for days.

There were chaotic scenes, with protesters screaming "Shame!" at police as they tried to shield themselves from the clouds of gas, AFP reporters said.

Several scuffles broke out between police in riot gear and demonstrators angered by the use of tear gas, which is rare in Hong Kong. An elderly woman was seen being carried away by protesters.

Police had earlier used hand-held pepper spray on demonstrators who had spilt onto a major multi-lane highway after breaking through barricades set up to stop people swelling the crowds camped outside Hong Kong's government headquarters since Friday.

Traffic had ground to a halt on busy Connaught Road, with police forced to retreat as the protesters rushed towards the crowds outside government headquarters on the other side. They cheered and embraced each other in the middle of the road, a major city artery usually filled with whizzing taxis and buses.

China, which stations a military garrison in Hong Kong, said it was confident the city's administration could handle the protest.

The extraordinary scenes came at the climax of a week of student-led action against China's refusal to grant full democracy to the former British colony.

Beijing said that while it would allow elections for Hong Kong's leader in 2017, it would insist on vetting the candidates.

Read more:
Hong Kong activists launch mass pro-democracy campaign

HONG KONG, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Thousands of democracy activists gathered in Hong Kong this weekend to protest the interference of the Chinese government in the city's elections. The protesters congregated just outside of the government headquarters in the city's center.

Some reports estimated that more than 50,000 people gathered for the evening rally. As the clock struck midnight in Hong Kong on Saturday night, tens of thousands were still packed in. At least 70 people were arrested by Hong Kong police, most of them young people -- high school and university students. As crowds continued to grow late in the evening, police reportedly began blocking additional protestors from joining the mass.

Democracy supporters in Hong Kong are upset over China's decision to augment the rules of Hong Kong's democratic elections -- stipulating that only candidates approved by the central government be allowed to appear on the ballot.

Most of those arrested on Saturday night were taken into custody for attempting to scale the fences that police had set up to block off access to Civic Plaza, the site of another protest held just days ago. But today, only emergency personnel were allowed into the cordoned-off plaza.

According to Los Angeles Times correspondent, Violet Law, some protestors could be heard chanting: "The students are innocent! The students are innocent! Officers, back off! Back off! Back off!"

Many of the students arrested were members of a high school activist club called Scholarism.

"Toward the end of our school boycott last night, we decided to seize the initiative and take back the plaza in order to escalate our action," 20-year-old Johnny Chung, a senior member of Scholarism, told Law in the wake of his arrest.

"The future of Hong Kong is ours," 16-year-old Phoebe Leung, another student protestor, told CNN. "I can't change Hong Kong, but if all of us are here ... we may change Hong Kong's future."

More protests are scheduled for later in the week.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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