The Latest: Hong Kong police fire tear gas at protesters
HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on protests in Hong Kong (all times local):
8 p.m.
Hong Kong police have fired tear gas at a crowd of some 1,000 protesters who blocked an intersection near a commuter rail station in the Tai Wai district of Kowloon.
Some protesters have also blocked an entrance to a tunnel that carries traffic under the Hong Kong harbor.
Earlier Saturday, protesters began two marches in defiance of a ban by police who have clashed with demonstrators over the past two months.
The marches add to nine weeks of protests over a proposed extradition law and other grievances against the Chinese territory's government.
Demonstrators complain China's ruling Communist Party and Hong Kong leaders are eroding the civil liberties promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997.
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4:35 p.m.
Protesters have begun marches in two Hong Kong neighborhoods in defiance of a ban by police who have clashed with demonstrators over the past two months.
The marches Saturday add to nine weeks of protests over a proposed extradition law and other grievances against the Chinese territory's government.
Police refused permission for the weekend rallies but protesters went ahead anyway.
Demonstrators complain China's ruling Communist Party and Hong Kong leaders are eroding the civil liberties promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997.
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12:35 p.m.
Another day of protests in Hong Kong has started with a rally of parents calling for greater protection for their children as ordinary people have increasingly become caught in skirmishes between anti-government demonstrators and police.
Hong Kong is in its ninth week of mass, city-wide demonstrations despite police objections to the rallies.
The movement began in June against an extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial. Since the government suspended the legislation, however, protesters have broadened their demands to include electoral reforms and an independent inquiry into alleged police abuse.
A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of "one country, two systems," which promises the semi-autonomous city certain democratic freedoms.
