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HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

For Jennifer Moberg, the answer is nearly 3,000 miles. After hearing from friends that pro-democracy protests in the city were escalating and that police were using tear gas on protesters, she immediately decided to return from Afghanistan, where she is working as a music teacher.

"The crazy part about that is that Sunday was also the inauguration of Afghanistan's new president," Moberg said.

"I just couldn't understand how I could be in one of the most dangerous countries on the planet, watching a peaceful transfer of power, while at the same time, Hong Kong -- one of the most peaceful, stable, organized places in the world -- was in protest," she said.

"At that point, I thought -- well, I have to come back."

Moberg lobbied for a few days off from work, and flew out the following day to join other Hong Kongers on the streets.

"I want to vote [in Hong Kong]," she said. "[We should] be able to pick our own leader."

Related: Police use tear gas as 'Occupy' comes to Hong Kong

Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement exploded last weekend as huge crowds of students flooded the city's main business district, and blocked several key arteries in the city.

Heavy-handed police action against them Sunday brought even more people into the streets. Protesters want free and open elections, while Beijing has proposed a system that will allow it to basically screen candidates for the city's top office.

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I flew from Afghanistan for HK democracy

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Bloombergs Andrew Davis reports on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as scuffles begin to break out between protesters and their opponents. He speaks on Bloomberg Surveillance.

Hong Kongs pro-democracy demonstrators came under assault at two protest sites in the city as hundreds of men tussled with students, shouted abuse and removed barricades.

Protest leader Benny Tai urged activists to leave Mong Kok, saying lives could be at risk. In Causeway Bay, where more confrontations took place, a group trying to reclaim a main road described themselves as ordinary citizens.

Slideshow: Hong Kong's Democracy Standoff

The violence forced protesters to leave swathes of the city they had occupied for the past week, with police escorting some students past angry crowds shouting abuse in Mong Kok. Protest leaders said they will cancel planned talks with the government unless the police halt what they called organized attacks.

Hong Kongs Autonomy

We see that violent thugs are maliciously attacking demonstrators, said Tai, founder of the Occupy Central With Love and Peace group. We urge citizens who are participating in the Occupy movement to leave Mong Kok immediately and come to rally in Admiralty, so that we can support each other.

Causeway Bay and Mong Kok -- a working-class area across the harbor in Kowloon -- are popular shopping districts. The centrally located Admiralty has been the biggest stronghold for the activists, who have surrounded the government headquarters there.

The pro-democracy demonstrations have paralyzed parts of central Hong Kong this week, and affected sales at retailers including Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., as well as the takings of bars, restaurants and cab drivers. Demonstrators want public nomination of candidates for the 2017 leadership contest, and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

If I see those people wearing yellow ribbon, I will crush them, said Lee, one of the men at Mong Kok shouting at the students to leave. Everyone is affected by this inconvenience. Our police are too tolerant.

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Hong Kong Protesters Attacked at Pro-Democracy Protests

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