But the reality on the streets of Hong Kong on Wednesday evening told a different story. "Young people you are not alone," read one sign posted by silver-haired marchers on a so-called Lennon Wall outside the government complex. A woman holds a banner to demand full democracy in Hong Kong. Credit:Kirsty Needham "People are coming out to support the young and say 'we understand and you are doing the right thing'," said Ng, 60, who works in property. Dressed in a white business shirt and grey office pants, he had walked in the heat from Chater Garden in Central with the march after work.

"I couldn't sleep that night," he said of Sunday, when television broadcasts showed police chasing the protesters into the upmarket New Town Plaza shopping centre. Media images showed protesters, shoppers and police with batons slipping on white floors that had been drenched with pepper spray and streaks of blood. "Where in the world could that happen? Police going into a shopping mall to try to arrest youngsters from four directions." A police officer scuffles with protesters in a shopping mall in Sha Tin district in Hong Kong on Sunday. Credit:AP He said the Sunday peaceful march had been granted police permission until 11pm, yet police had tried to surround protesters in the mall, which was the entrance to the train station, as they were trying to leave. At least 40 people were arrested and 28 hospitalised.

Ng said in the internet age, Hong Kong citizens could search out the truth of what was happening. Intergenerational support. Credit:Kirsty Needham Joseph, 61, an engineer, said he was marching because "the government does not respond to our request". He wants an independent inquiry into police handling of the protests, and the extradition bill withdrawn. "The Hong Kong people are united together whatever our age or occupation," he said. The Lennon Wall made up of protest Post-It notes in support of Hong Kong's democracy movement. Credit:Kirsty Needham

"At Sha Tin people stayed inside the shopping mall. Police came to commit violence.... They stopped the trains and people couldn't leave. They were trapped inside. That is not an acceptable standard from the police." Loading Cheng, 60, said she was at the Sha Tin protest and showed a video she took on her phone of police massing at the train station as she was trying to leave. Cheng had been surrounded by police shouting at her at one point, and said she just snapped and started screaming back. She said the earlier march had been peaceful, but at the shopping mall there was no way for the young protesters to get out.

Mike, 70, said he was eating at a restaurant in the mall when the waitress interrupted his meal and asked him to pay the bill quickly because the police had notified the restaurant they would start a clearance operation. "The police came in from different directions. I got the last train, thank God, because the waitress told me. The police created a dangerous situation," he said. An English expat who has lived in Hong Kong for 30 years, Mike came out to march on Wednesday evening partly because he was upset at what he saw in Sha Tin. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Sue, 69, a barrister, said: "What I don't like is there have been isolated incidents of violence by protesters but it has been amplified by Carrie Lam, when we have seen actual police violence."

Ng said of the summer of protests: "There will be an impact not just on property but the overall economy of Hong Kong. It is worrying, but it is the right path to let the government know what we want." Loading Australian lawyer Antony Dapiran, who is based in Hong Kong and has written a book on the city's history of protest, said the turnout on Wednesday evening showed "the community are still out supporting the protesters" despite recent violence. "No matter how much Carrie Lam might wish that public sentiment might turn the other way when they see these violent images on the TV screen, it doesn't. People still seem to be blaming the police," he said. Sun Hung Kai, the owner of the New Town Plaza, said on Wednesday it didn't know of police action in advance.

Hong Kong retailers said they expected a double digit fall in sales for July and August as protests continue. The Hong Kong Retail Management Association called on the government to resolve the dispute and were worried it would "hit Hong Kong's international image as a safe city with good food and a shopping paradise". The University of Hong Kong meanwhile said it would lodge a formal complaint with the police after officers entered the campus shortly after midnight on July 17. "The university security immediately questioned why they were there in violation of existing protocol," the university said in a statement that also expressed concern at the development. A graduate of the university was among the protesters arrested and detained by police after the Sha Tin incident.