More pro-democracy protesters have joined demonstrators in the centre of Hong Kong.
Tens of thousands of people, part of the Occupy Central movement, are calling for reforms and for Beijing to give Hong Kong a free vote for its next leader, something Beijing has rejected.
It has been dubbed “the umbrella revolution,” a reference to the umbrellas carried by protesters to ward off teargas and pepper spray as well as shelter them from the sun.
Hong Kong chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, told protesters to go home.
“The organisers of Occupy Central have said several times before that if the movement goes out of control, then it will be halted. So now, I call upon the organisers to fulfill their promise and end the action immediately,” he said.
When Britain signed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, a two system approach was agreed whereby Hong Kong would be able to run its own affairs, separate from Beijing.
British prime minister David Cameron criticised China for backtracking on this.
“Of course, I feel a deep obligation and we’ve expressed how concerned we are about what is happening in Hong Kong, because, obviously, when we reached the agreement with China there were details of that agreement about the importance of giving the Hong Kong people a democratic future within this two systems approach that we were setting out with the Chinese,” Cameron said.
China has told foreign countries not to interfere with its internal problems.
Leaders of the movement have said the protests will continue until Wednesday’s national holiday.
