Hong Kong - Hong Kong police say they arrested 12 protesters who were blocking several roads in the Mong Kok neighborhood overnight Wednesday as pro-democracy demonstrators returned to the site hundreds had occupied for more than two months.
Police said in a statement Thursday that police used pepper spray and batons to break up the protest and arrested demonstrators on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer to failing to produce proof of identity. The statement said two police officers were injured in the operation.
Over the fall, thousands of protesters occupied three busy neighborhoods to demand that residents of the semi-autonomous city be allowed to elect their top executive in 2017 from an open list of candidates. Chinese officials are requiring that a committee believed friendly to Beijing select the candidates.
Sapa-AP