Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have regrouped and laid fresh claim to a protest site cleared by police, refusing to give up on their dream of free elections in the Chinese-controlled city.<br /><br />Demonstrators clashed with riot officers standing firm in the Mong Kok district, scene of some of the most violent confrontations in the two month long civil disobedience campaign.<br /><br />Holding banners displaying telephone numbers for free legal aid, protesters are striving to maintain momentum with nearly 150 people arrested since Tuesday – including two student leaders at the heart of the movement.<br /><br />As activists were detained, it was revealed that seven police officers had been arrested in connection with the beating of a pro-democracy protester last month.<br /><br />The demonstrations started in late September and drew more than 100,000 to the streets at their peak.<br /><br />The clearance of the site in the working-class Mong Kok neighbourhood is a big breakthrough in the authorities’ efforts to end the most tenacious protest movement in the recent history of the former British colony. <br /><br />A further two protest sites remain, with activists occupying segments of roads and blocking traffic in the city’s Admiralty district near government offices and Causeway Bay, a major shopping area.
