Members of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement were filmed cleaning up at a metro station on Monday morning after it became the scene of clashes between protesters and police.

The volunteer cleaners turned up following an online call from protest organisers, who said the Sham Shui Po MTR station was still “contaminated” after police fired teargas canisters in the area on Thursday.

Footage posted online by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) showed people with face masks, gloves and tissues or wet wipes getting rid of what they said was teargas residue.

At Monday morning’s clean-up, one volunteer identified only by his surname Chan told RTHK that he hoped the MTR Corporation would put pressure on the authorities to stop using inappropriate crowd control tactics around metro stations.

Other cleaners said it shouldn’t be up to them to “decontaminate” the facilities, and that industrial cleaning equipment was required. Similar scenes were also seen last Friday at the Kwai Fong MTR station, where volunteers said the station had not been thoroughly cleaned following another teargas volley.

Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Show all 35 1 /35 Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police officers point their guns towards pro-democracy protesters after a clash at a march in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Pro-democracy protesters throw molotov cocktails during clashes with riot police in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Demonstrators rally behind barricades ass they are shrouded in tear gas deployed by police in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police clash withpro-democracy protesters at a march in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A police officer prepares to strike a protester as clashes erupt during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong on August 24 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A water cannon is fired by riot police to clear the street of demonstrators during a protest in Hong Kong on August 25 EPA Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Pro-democracy protesters use a slingshot during clashes with riot police in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police fire tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong on August 24 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A demonstrator throws a molotov cocktail as they clash with riot police during a protest in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A demonstrator swings a tennis racket in an attempt to knock back a tear gas cannister thrown by riot police during a protest in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A protester displays a Hong Kong Independence flag during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong on August 24 EPA Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police tend to a detained demonstrator who has been injured during a protest in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A demonstrator uses bamboo poles to build a barricade during a protest in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police clash with demonstrators during a protest in Hong Kong on August 24 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Protesters are hit by tear gas fired by the police in Hong Kong on August 24 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Demonstrators shrouded in tear gas shield themselves behind barricades during a clash with riot police in Hong Kong on August 25 Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police arrest a protester during a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong on August 24 EPA Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police clash with pro-democracy protesters at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Protesters fall back as they clash with police during a protest at Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong on August 24 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police clash with pro-democracy protesters at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police move to disperse protesters during a clash at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Commuters riding in a bus drive past protesters in Hong Kong's Kowloon Bay on August 24 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Protester hold umbrellas as they take part in a pro-democracy march in Hong Kong on August 24 EPA Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police detain a demonstrator as they clash during a protest in Hong Kong on August 24 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Pro-democracy protesters block the entrance to the airport terminals after clashes with police at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police spray pepper spray as shield themselves by a police van during a clash with pro-democracy protesters at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Riot police use pepper spray to disperse protesters during a demonstration at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Demonstrators shrouded in tear gas shield themselves behind barricades during a clash with riot police in Hong Kong on August 25 Reuters Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Medical professionals gather to protest police brutality at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on August 13 Getty Images Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police detain a pro-democracy protester at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures A protester is halted by police during an occupation at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AP Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police clash with pro-democracy protesters at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Police stand guard at the entrance of the departure terminals at the Hong Kong international airport on August 13 AFP/Getty Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Protesters continue their occupation at the Hong Kong international airport on August 14 AP Continuing protests rock Hong Kong: In pictures Travellers read placards and posters left by pro-democracy protesters at the Hong Kong international airport on August 14 AP

The protest movement is fighting to retain public support after 11 weeks of increasingly violent clashes with the authorities have divided opinions on demonstrators’ tactics.

What started out as a series of marches against a controversial new extradition bill has spiralled into a broad-based movement against what many see as the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.

And while police have been accused of using excessive force, the growing unrest has seen Beijing describe the protesters as “terrorist-like” and threaten to intervene directly if the situation is not brought under control.

If a rally on Sunday was anything to go by, the protest movement still retains remarkably widespread support. Despite heavy rain, organisers estimated 1.7 million people turned out in a peaceful march that was mostly limited by the authorities to the city’s Victoria Park.

Police confirmed the rally was mostly peaceful, with demonstrators dispersing on time in a break from other recent protests that were followed by violent clashes into the night.

Some incidents of breaches of the public peace did occur late on Sunday, police said, but these were limited to protesters throwing small stones at a government office and aiming laser beams at police officers.

There was a minimal police presence on Sunday and no arrests were made to add to the more than 700 people detained since the crisis began in June.

The government said in a statement on Sunday night it was important to restore social order as soon as possible and that it would begin talks with the public and “rebuild social harmony when everything has calmed down”.

Meanwhile, China kept up its hardened stance on the unrest, which has seen thousands of paramilitary personnel engaged in menacing “riot control” training exercises just across the border from Hong Kong in Shenzhen.

The Chinese Communist Party’s official People’s Daily newspaper warned again in an editorial on Monday that hostile foreign influences were inciting the protest movement.

It also said the protests carried the distinctive features of a “colour revolution”, a reference to popular uprisings in former Soviet states, such as Ukraine, that often swept long-established rulers from power.

And Beijing lashed out against the government of Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China considers its own territory, which offered last month to give political asylum to participants in Hong Kong’s protest movement.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Chinese Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan’s offer would “cover up the crimes of a small group of violent militants” and encourage their “audacity in harming Hong Kong and turn Taiwan into a “heaven for ducking the law”.

Ma demanded that Taiwan’s government “cease undermining the rule of law” in Hong Kong, cease interfering in its affairs and not “condone criminals”.

More protests are planned this week in Hong Kong, including another strike in districts across the city.