Hong Kong: Protesters in Hong Kong have ended their overnight siege of police headquarters peacefully, disappointed that their demands for the territory's leader to formally withdraw a contentious extradition bill and police to apologise for heavy handed tactics are unmet.

A protester throws an egg at police headquarters during a demonstrations in Hong Kong, China. Credit:Bloomberg

By daybreak on Saturday, police cleared the streets of barriers set up by protesters to snarl traffic in the Asian financial centre, and only a few groups in the mostly youthful crowd remained. Many slept outside the legislature.

Hong Kong has been rocked by major protests for the past two weeks over legislative proposals that many view as eroding the territory's judicial independence and, more broadly, as a sign of Chinese government efforts to chip away at the city's freedoms.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam indefinitely suspended debate on the bills a week ago, making it likely they would die.