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Kin Cheung/AP Photo A protester lies on the stairway as police try to remove him and others from a tube station near government headquarters in Hong Kong Monday, Dec. 1, 2014.

Hong Kong police reclaimed swaths of an area occupied by pro-democracy protesters on Monday morning after hours of intense clashes which led to scores of injuries and arrests.

Sunday nights clashes were perhaps the most violent since the movement began two months ago. Police baton charges left some protesters prostrate and bleeding, while volleys of pepper spray left others vomiting and temporarily blind. At least 40 people were arrested; one officer was knocked out cold in a scuffle and taken away on a stretcher.

At about 8am local time (midnight GMT), police reclaimed a flyover above the protest encampment, removed a line of hanging pro-democracy banners, and cheered loudly to celebrate their advance. Protesters below hurled insults and held up their middle fingers.

An hour and a half later, the scene had calmed somewhat, although about 500 protesters remained at the site, some hurling insults at lines of police in full riot gear.

Vinki Tsang, a 20-year-old psychology student, spent the morning picking up debris from a part of flyover still accessible to protesters.

We do not know what we can do but we just want to try and clean up a little, said Tsang, both of her knees bandaged from Sunday nights street battle. Last night I was very scared. Now I am looking for ways to contribute again to our fight for democracy. I do not understand why the police are so brutal with us they are Hong Kongers too, they will benefit from the results of our battle as well.

A 24-year-old office worker who only gave her English name, Sony, said: The police have lost all self-control. I feel dejected because it is obvious that our methods are not working with them. But since we are not ready to take up arms, we have to think about what we can do to make the situation advance.

Late on Sunday night, student leaders urged a large crowd of supporters to escalate the movement by surrounding government headquarters. Unable to reach them due to barricades and a heavy police presence, protesters broke through cordons into Tamar Park, a grassy space adjacent to government headquarters, and Lung Wo Road, closing the four-lane east-west route.

Demonstrators on the frontline wore helmets, masks and goggles, carrying plastic shields and the umbrellas that gave the pro-democracy movement its name. The police have been beating us so many times, Kenci Wong, 24, who works in advertising. But what we are asking for is right. The government hopes we will get tired but we are very determined.

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