China weighs in on HK protests

With tens of thousands in the streets of Hong Kong on Monday, blocking major intersections and prompting authorities to "withdraw" riot police, China has officially voiced its opposition to the situation in the semiautonomous region.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing "vehemently objected to illegal actions that undermine the rule of law and social security," adding that any international intervention in China's matters was also unacceptable.

Those statements came just before Britain, which controlled Hong Kong until 1997, voiced concern with regard to the "escalating protests," calling for "constructive talks" that it hoped would eventually lead to a "meaningful advance for democracy."

Calling on Hong Kong protesters to exercise their right to demonstrate "within the law," Britain's Foreign Office said that such rights and freedoms could "best by guaranteed by the transition to universal suffrage."

The pro-democracy protests have drawn mostly young residents into the streets in a massive but peaceful movement of civil resistance to Beijing's plans to screen candidates for the post of the city's leader, or chief executive.

In response, China has already banned the use of Instagram, a photography application for smart phones, and on Monday threatened to delete any coverage of the Hong Kong protests within its cyberspace.

Riot police 'withdrawn'

In defiance of Beijing, throngs of people remained in Hong Kong's busiest streets on Monday, digging in for another night of confrontation with police. Demonstrators fought hours of running battles with police Sunday night, choking on clouds of tear gas as officers attempted to suppress the crowds.

In an apparent concession to demonstrators, a statement on the Hong Kong government website read: "Because citizens gathered on the street have calmed, riot police have been withdrawn." The statement went on to ask protesters to "relinquish occupied roads as soon as possible for emergency vehicles to pass through and for the partial restoration of public transport services."

"I'm staying until the end, until we get what we want to get, which is true democracy," 18-year-old high school student Michael Wan told the AFP news agency, surrounded by thousands of fellow supporters - many of them masked with translucent plastic wrapped around their faces as a precautionary measure.

Tear gas

A top police official said Monday that tear gas had been used 87 times against demonstrators on Sunday night.

"Force is used in a situation when we have no other alternatives," said Assistant Commissioner Cheung Tak-keung, adding officers were compelled to deploy the gas when "police cordon lines were heavily charged."

Two pro-democracy movements have now become one in Hong Kong, as last week's student protest merged with a mass civil disobedience campaign, Occupy Central, initially planned for Wednesday - the 65th anniversary of the formation of the People's Republic of China.

Last week, students boycotted classes, held marches and stormed the government's headquarters over the weekend, a move that prompted Occupy Central to bring forward its demonstration. Dozens of protesters were arrested as the demonstrations turned into clashes with police.

glb/bw (Reuters, dpa, AP, AFP)