Hong Kong | Protesters demand mainland Chinese traders leave

Police fought with protesters who marched through a Hong Kong shopping mall Saturday demanding mainland Chinese traders leave the territory in a fresh weekend of anti-government tension.

The protest in Sheung Shui, near Hong Kong’s boundary with the mainland, was part of efforts to pressure the government by disrupting economic activity.

About 100 protesters marched through the mall shouting, “Liberate Hong Kong!” and “Return to the mainland!”

Police in civilian clothes with clubs tackled and handcuffed some protesters. One officer fired pepper spray at protesters and reporters. Government broadcaster RTHK reported 14 people were detained.

Some shoppers argued with police in olive fatigues and helmets who blocked walkways in the mall.

Protests that began in June over a proposed extradition law have spread to include demands for more democracy and other grievances. The proposed law was withdrawn but protesters want the resignation of the territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, and other changes.

Protesters complain Beijing and Lam’s government are eroding the autonomy and Western-style civil liberties promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to China in 1997.

On Saturday, some merchants in the Sheung Shui mall wrapped orange tape around kiosks or partially closed security doors in shops but most business went ahead normally.

Hong Kong, which has no sales tax and a reputation for genuine products, is popular with Chinese traders who buy merchandise to resell on the mainland.

Sheung Shui was the site of clashes between police and demonstrators in June.

Earlier this week, protesters smashed windows in shopping areas over the Christmas holiday. Some fought with police.

A total of 336 people were arrested from Monday to Thursday, according to police. Chief police spokesman Kwok Ka-chuen told reporters that those detained included 92 women and minors as young as 12.

The arrests bring the number of people detained over the course of the protests to nearly 7,000, with a large proportion of student age.

Protesters, some donning Santa Claus hats, battled police over the holiday as the more than 6-month-long demonstrations look set to continue into the new year.

Kwok condemned what he called attacks on ordinary citizens at shopping centers and restaurants and vandalism of public infrastructure including subway stations, banks and the electrical grid.

“Their scheme is to silence those who hold dissenting views and to terrorize the public. Whoever disagrees with their violence will be met with violence,” Kwok told reporters.

Black-clad protesters smashed shop windows in shopping areas, while police responded with tear gas and arrests.

The protests demanding greater democratic rights show no sign of dissipating following an overwhelming victory by anti-establishment candidates in elections for district representatives earlier this month.

The Christmas disruptions also raise concerns for the New Year holidays to follow and the longer Lunar New Year vacation in late January, a time that has led to violence and unrest in Hong Kong in the past. MDT/AP