Police doused pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong with tear gas and pepper spray Sunday, as demonstrations outside the Hong Kong government's headquarters intensified following Beijing's decision to restrict democratic reforms in the city.
Protesters used umbrellas to block jets of pepper spray, but they failed to provide protection from the tear gas fumes coming out of canisters that police hurled into the swarm of thousands.
Organized by students, the protest began Friday, continued Saturday and reached a chaotic point Sunday, when police used tear gas to clear a busy road. The protestors were conducting a mass sit-in to demand that an election for Hong Kong's leader be held without Beijing's interference (Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997).
In a police statement, officials told protestors -- some of whom tried tear down metal barricades -- to "leave peacefully and orderly ... otherwise police will use a higher level of force in order to restore public order and safeguard public safety." The latest figures show 78 people have been arrested during the protest.
The tear gas dispersed the crowd as planned, but protestors eventually congregated in another major roadway across the harbor from their original sit-in location, according to several reports.
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Additional reporting by The Associated Press