Hong Kong police use tear gas to clear protesters

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Hong Kong police use tear gas to clear protesters
By KELVIN CHAN
Associated Pres
Sep 28, 7:11 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong police used tear gas on Sunday to try to clear thousands of pro-democracy protesters who had gathered outside government headquarters in a challenge to Beijing over its decision to restrict democratic reforms for the city.

After spending hours holding the protesters at bay, police lobbed canisters of tear gas into the crowd on Sunday evening. The searing fumes sent protesters fleeing down the road. The tear gas, however, only temporarily cleared the demonstrators, who returned to occupy the road.

Students and activists have been camped out on the streets outside the government complex all weekend. Students started the rally, but by early Sunday leaders of the broader Occupy Central civil disobedience movement said they were joining them to kick-start a long-threatened mass sit-in to demand an election for Hong Kong's leader without Beijing's interference.

Authorities launched their crackdown after the protest spiraled into an extraordinary scene of chaos as the protesters jammed a busy road and clashed with officers wielding pepper spray.