Thousands of
pro-democracy protesters are blocking Hong Kong's streets, shutting down the
territory's business hub and ignoring appeals to leave.
Crowds remained on
the streets overnight after a day that saw riot police deploy tear gas and
batons in a bid to disperse them.
On Monday, the Hong
Kong government said riot police were being withdrawn as people had
"mostly calmed down".
But some banks and
schools were closed, and there was transport chaos.
Protesters - a mix
of students and supporters of the Occupy Central pro-democracy movement - are
angry at Beijing's plans to vet candidates for Hong Kong's 2017 leadership
elections.
They want a free
choice of candidates when they cast their ballots for the chief executive -
something Beijing says is out of the question.
Sunday saw angry
scenes and dozens of arrests on Hong Kong's streets as tens of thousands of
protesters faced riot police in the heart of the city.
Some of them
remained camped out around the government complex overnight, sleeping on the
ground and some erecting barricades.
About 3,000 people
have also blocked a major road across the bay in Mongkok while a crowd of about
1,000 faced police in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, east of
central Hong Kong.
Overnight, Hong
Kong's chief executive reassured the public that rumours the Chinese army might
intervene were untrue.
"I hope the
public will keep calm. Don't be misled by the rumours," CY Leung said.
The government
urged protesters to stay calm and leave peacefully.
But schools in
three districts have been closed and the city remains heavily disrupted, with
several major thoroughfares blocked.
One man said
protesters were growing more confident. "Police don't have enough officers
to close down the districts where there are protests," Ivan Yeung, 27,
told AFP news agency.
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