Hong Kong was brought to a standstill on Monday morning as thousands of pro-democracy protesters blocked roads, disrupted trains and cancelled almost 200 flights as a mass strike got underway.
Traffic snarled up as activists barricaded the Cross-Harbour tunnel linking Hong Kong island with the mainland, while trains were delayed as demonstrators held the doors of carriages open.
Police fired rounds of tear gas at protesters outside Tin Shui Wai this afternoon during clashes as demonstrators gathered to rally against the officers' rough treatment of a female protester.
Some of the activists had been hurling stones at the police station while others shouted 'triad' in Cantonese at a distance, accusing the police of colluding with gang members.
Footage on social media shows protesters fled in all direction after tear gas was fired.
Some of the demonstrators were apparently protesting against the police's handling of a female protester during a rally outside the police station on Saturday.
The female protester were said to be carried away by a group of male officers who grabbed her by her limbs. The male policemen allegedly pulled up the woman's dress, leaving her crotch exposed to the public.
Police said the woman had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
Meanwhile striking airport workers caused almost 100 inbound and 100 outbound flights to be cancelled on Monday morning.
Carrie Lam, the city's leader who has faced daily calls to resign over the protests, warned the people were now on 'the verge of a very dangerous situation.'
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'I don't think at this point in time, resignation of myself or some of my colleagues would provide a better solution,' the chief executive said at a news conference, having disappeared from public view for almost two weeks.
Protesters snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors, preventing subway and commuter rail trains from leaving their stations.
After demonstrators in face masks refused to move from train entry points in several stations, and commuters found themselves stranded on crowded platforms and some required medical attention.
More than 100 flights have been cancelled out of Hong Kong after a large number of airport employees called in sick in apparent participation in the general strike, Hong Kong media reported.
Public broadcaster RTHK said Cathay Pacific and other domestic carriers such as Hong Kong Airlines were the most affected.
Airport express train service was also suspended.
Meanwhile, 82 protesters including 47 men and 35 women were arrested today. Among them, 76 were arrested in Tin Shui Wai on suspicion of unlawful assemblies and assaulting police officers during the protests over the weekend. The rest were arrested on charged including illegal possession of dangerous weapons.
Police said a total of 420 protesters aged between 14 and 76 had been arrested since the mass demonstrations began on June 9. The state broadcaster said the suspects had been arrested on various charges including rioting, unlawful assemblies and assault on police officers.
It comes after a day of unrest Sunday when activists called for a general strike to paralyse the city Monday across eight districts - Admiralty, Mong Kok, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Tsuen Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Tuen Mun and around the theme park Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.
More than 1,000 demonstrators staged a peaceful protest in New Town Plaza shopping mall in Sha Tin.
Demonstrators clashed with police as they dragged barriers across city streets, spray-painted traffic lights and snipped cables powering them in an attempt to cause as much disruption as possible.
'We sprayed the traffic light because we don't want traffic to work tomorrow and we don't want citizens to go to work,' said one protester who was clad from head to toe in black.
Riot police confronted the protesters, who have adopted flash tactics, shifting quickly from place to place to evade capture and using online platforms such as Telegram to direct hundreds of people.
Police fired tear gas into crowds as protesters used slingshots to hurl rocks and bricks back at them.
Meanwhile China's official state news agency Xinhua wrote on Sunday that the 'central government will not sit idly by and let this situation continue'.
The citywide strike and demonstrations in seven Hong Kong districts moved forward Monday following a weekend of clashes between protesters and riot police.
They are part of a summer of fiery demonstrations that began in June against proposed extradition legislation that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial.
While the government has since suspended the bill, protesters have pressed on with broader calls for democratic reforms and an investigation into alleged police brutality.
The Communist Party-led central government in Beijing has condemned what they call violent and radical protesters who have vandalized the Chinese national anthem and national flag on the sidelines of major rallies.
China has accused unnamed 'foreign forces' of inflaming the demonstrations out of a desire to contain the country's development.
On Chinese state broadcaster CCTV's daily noon news report, an anchor read aloud from a strongly-worded editorial titled 'The Chaos in Hong Kong Must Not Continue.'
'We warn those maniacs and thugs who intend to continue to mess up Hong Kong by holding to a fantasy that you must pay a price for your savage revenge,' the editorial said.
'So please become aware of your errors, turn back from your incorrect path and set down the butcher's knives.'
A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of 'one country, two systems,' which promised the city certain democratic freedoms not afforded to the mainland.
But some Hong Kong residents feel that Beijing has been increasingly encroaching on their freedoms in recent years.
Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy lawmaker, said Beijing should consider engaging with protesters through Lam.
'We hope the learned people in Beijing would at least deliver some sincerity by suggesting via Carrie Lam, 'Okay, you guys want democracy, perhaps we can talk,' Mo said Monday.
'We can talk - just three words. And maybe that can help appease the society.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
