Demands: Two of the protesters involved in the weekend. Photo: Jorge Silva/Reuters

Hong Kong cleaned up yesterday and train services resumed after the latest weekend of violent protests and disruption.

Nearly 50 people were arrested in the clashes, police said, bringing the total number arrested in the protests since June to 1,556.

And as two significant anniversaries for the former British colony draw nearer, Hong Kong remains on edge.

Authorities in the city are eager to avoid scenes that could embarrass the central government in Beijing as it marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on October 1.

The Hong Kong government starts an official dialogue with community members this week in a bid to heal rifts in society and has already called off a big fireworks display to mark the anniversary in case of further clashes.

Hong Kong also marks the fifth anniversary this weekend of the start of the "Umbrella" protests, a series of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 that failed to wrestle concessions from Beijing.

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Whatsapp Police: The total number arrested since June has risen to 1,556. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

Activists plan to gather at so-called Lennon Walls in the heart of the financial centre on Saturday and spread to different areas across the island.

The walls feature anti-government messages and are named after the original John Lennon Wall in Communist-ruled Prague in the 1980s.

Another rally is planned for next Sunday in the bustling shopping and tourist district of Causeway Bay, the site of some fierce recent clashes between police and protesters.

Last Sunday, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the latest clashes in more than three months of unrest.

Forty-seven people, 42 males and five females aged between 14 and 64, were arrested. The pro-democracy protests have plunged the city - a semi-autonomous Chinese territory - into its worst political crisis in decades.

The biggest clashes took place in or near Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations, now a familiar target of attack because stations are closed at the government's behest to stop demonstrators from gathering.

Hundreds of protesters had gathered in the New Town Plaza in the New Territories town of Sha Tin on Sunday, chanting: "Fight for freedom" and "Liberate Hong Kong".

Activists trampled on a Chinese flag near the station and rounded on a man they believed had opposed them.

Protesters also smashed video cameras and ticket booths in the station.

Outside they set fire to barricades made of cardboard, broken palm trees and other debris.

MTR said train services had returned to normal yesterday.

China, which has a People's Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong, has said it has faith in Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to solve the crisis.

Demonstrators are frustrated at what they see as Beijing's tightening grip over the Asian financial hub, which returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula intended to guarantee freedoms that are not enjoyed on the mainland.

China says it is committed to the "one country, two systems" arrangement.

The protests were sparked in June by a proposal to allow people to be extradited to the mainland on criminal charges. It has since been withdrawn.

But they have since grown to encompass a much wider pro-democracy agenda.

Scores of airlines wrote jointly to the Hong Kong government this month to seek airport fee waivers as they struggle to deal with the financial fallout from the protests that have led to a sharp drop in traveller demand.

Irish Independent