Several thousand people took part in an unauthorized demonstration in central Hong Kong on Saturday, marking the 22nd consecutive weekend of anti-government protests.
The mainly black-clad protesters, many defying a ban on wearing masks, gathered in the Causeway Bay shopping district on Hong Kong Island in the afternoon, leading to the police firing tear gas and pepper spray to disperse them.
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According to local media, several pro-democracy candidates in district council elections later this month planned to hold a rally in nearby Victoria Park on Saturday. But before the event could get underway it was overwhelmed by skirmishes between police and protesters.
Millions of people have taken to the streets since June to protest against a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
Although the bill has been withdrawn, the protesters' demands have widened to include an independent inquiry into police use of violent tactics against them, pardons for all those arrested and democratic reform.
