Hong Kong police clashed with thousands of protesters on Sunday, as they sought to defend China's main representative office from crowds seething over what many see as an increasing cycle of violence against them. Protests over the past two months spearheaded by anti-government activists against a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to stand trial in courts in mainland China have grown increasingly violent.
A march on Saturday against an assault the previous weekend by suspected triad gang members ended in violent turmoil as riot police waded in to disperse crowds. On Sunday, a peaceful gathering in a park in the city's central business district rapidly morphed into a march, as tens of thousands of black-clad protesters set off in several directions, clogging up major thoroughfares.