Thousands of Hong Kongers held rallies on Friday night, rejecting calls by the city's pro-Beijing leader to end their movement as the finance hub braces for another weekend of clashes, including a plan to disrupt the airport.
Police fired brief volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets against a few hundred protesters who had gathered outside a police station in Mongkok district. The demonstrators later blocked roads, set barricades on fire and faced off with riot police before dispersing without any major new clashes. But a second, much larger rally in the heart of the city's commercial district remained peaceful. Millions of pro-democracy supporters have taken to Hong Kong's streets for the past three months in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997.