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Students and teachers attend a rally during the class boycott at the Chinese University of Hong Kong today. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters.

Students from various universities clench their fists during a demonstration at the Chinese University in Hong Kong today. Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters.

Thousands of students braved sweltering heat in Hong Kong today to demand greater democracy as they launched a week-long boycott of classes, underscoring a restive younger generations determination to challenge the Chinese Communist Party.

Wearing yellow ribbons, students from more than 20 universities and colleges packed into the grounds of picturesque, bay-side Chinese University where they were greeted by banners that said: The boycott must happen. Disobey and grasp your destiny.

The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with a high degree of autonomy, but Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely choose the citys next leader, prompting threats from activists to shut down the central finance district as part of their pro-democracy campaign.

We demand the government responds to our call to endorse civil nominations, said Alex Chow, leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, one of the organisers of the boycott who also called on Hong Kong to reject fake elections.

Some of the student leaders wore black T-shirts with the words democracy now.

Students converged on a long boulevard at the university, with some carrying umbrellas to protect them from the baking sun, and many chanting united we stand and democracy now.

Leading academics in Hong Kong have voiced support for the boycott, with some offering to record lectures and post them online for students who miss school to watch later.

As long as the spirit of democracy stays alive, we cannot and will not be defeated, said Chan Kin-man, a co-founder of the Occupy Central movement that has threatened to blockade the heart of the Asian financial centre to demand full democracy.

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Hong Kong students boycott classes, demand democracy