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Reuters An Occupy Central protester, wearing a t-shirt with an image of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, marches with fellow demonstrators as they hold a 500-meter long black cloth in Hong Kong, September 14, 2014. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

By Donny Kwok and Diana Chan

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thousands of pro-democracy activists clad in black marched silently through Hong Kong on Sunday, holding banners saying they felt betrayed and angry at Beijing's refusal to allow fully-democratic elections for the city's next chief executive in 2017.

The protesters, who carried enormous black cloth ribbons through the streets, also held up signs calling for further civil disobedience and cheering on students planning to boycott classes.

"Occupy Central with Love and Peace!" and "Support students boycotting classes!" read some of the signs. "Beijing has breached our trust! Universal suffrage is hopeless!" read another.

Dozens of pro-establishment protesters gathered nearby waving banners and cursing the democracy activists and students.

"Students should focus on studying!" shouted Pok Chun-chung, an organizer of the pro-establishment "Protect Hong Kong" movement. "If you adults have guts then you should occupy Central yourself, not use children as cannon fodder!"

The protest remained peaceful and police stood by. Organisers estimated there were around 4,000 marchers at the height of the protest. Police estimated 1,860.

Sunday's march was the latest in a series of confrontations between pro-democracy activists and pro-establishment forces over the extent to which Hong Kong may go ahead with democratic reforms.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to Communist Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" form of government. It was given wide-ranging autonomy, including an undated promise of "universal suffrage".

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More than 1,000 pro-democracy activists stage 'black cloth' march in Hong Kong