Police and activists clash for third day in row with leader saying holiday ‘ruined’

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Hong Kong protesters and police clashed for a third day in a row over the Christmas holiday with demonstrators vowing to return on New Year’s Day.

Police fired pepper spray and blue dye at protesters, chanting anti-government and anti-police slogans, marching in shopping malls. Clashes broke out in other malls with police arresting more than 300 people.

Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, accused protesters of “ruining” the holiday with protests on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Police said they arrested 165 people on Christmas Eve, when police fired teargas on thousands gathered outside malls and hotels.

On Thursday, the government condemned protesters for using violence. “Unprecedented violence, reckless and organised destruction became the norm,” the statement said.

Hong Kong has been left battered by more than six months of protests which have upended the financial hub’s reputation for stability and helped tip the city into recession.

Play Video 1:35 Violent clashes in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve – video

The city’s many malls have become regular protest venues as demonstrators try to cause economic disruption and pressure the city’s pro-Beijing leadership.

The last month had seen a relative drop-off in violence and protests after pro-democracy candidates won a landslide at local elections.

But with Beijing and city leaders refusing further concessions, rallies and clashes have reignited over the Christmas period. Christmas Eve was the scene of some of the worst violence in weeks as protesters and police fought running battles for hours in a busy shopping district.

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Protest groups say they have been left with little choice but to employ increasingly radical tactics as Beijing and Lam continue to refuse to make concessions.

Swathes of the population are protesting against Beijing’s rule and the semi-autonomous city’s administration as they push for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.

The protests were initially sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland.

They have since morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing’s control, with growing fears the city is losing some of its unique liberties.

Among the demands being made by protesters are an inquiry into alleged police brutality, amnesty for the more than 6,000 people arrested, and the right to elect Hong Kong’s leader.

China denies clamping down on Hong Kong’s freedoms and has painted the protest movement as a foreign-funded plot to destabilise the motherland, dismissing any of the movement’s political grievances as illegitimate.