Hong Kong police arrest democracy protestors after clash

Hong Kong police said on Thursday they had arrested a dozen pro-democracy protesters after a night of clashes in the first sizable rally since the last protest camp was cleared last week. Police used pepper spray and batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who crowded the pavements Christmas Eve and at times rushed into traffic on major roads in Mongkok district. News footage showed protesters, one of whom had a bloodied head, being pressed to the ground by several officers.

They caused chaos and blocked roads. Police arrested 10 men and two women, aged between 13 and 43.

Hong Kong police, in a statement

Protesters in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay raised yellow crosses and umbrellas as they sang Christmas carols. Mongkok was the scene of some of the most violent clashes during two months of sit-in protests which occupied major roads in Hong Kong. Protesters occupied stretches of some main highways for more than two months from Sept. 28, calling for fully free leadership elections in 2017 after Beijing said candidates for chief executive must first be vetted by a loyalist committee.