Pro-democracy protesters held twin rallies in Hong Kong on Sunday as China delivered fresh warnings over the unrest battering the city, a day after police fired tear gas at demonstrators in a popular tourist hub.
Thousands marched through two separate districts on Sunday afternoon, the latest protests in another weekend of explosive unrest.
On Saturday, Tsim Sha Tsui — a harbourside district known for its luxury malls and hotels — was filled with acrid plumes of tear gas as small groups of hardcore protesters battled police in streets usually brimming with tourists and shoppers.
China’s official Xinhua news agency published a new commentary on Sunday saying “ugly forces” were threatening the country’s “bottom line”.
“The central government will not sit idly by and let this situation continue,” the agency wrote.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has seen two months of protests and clashes triggered by opposition to a planned extradition law that quickly evolved into a wider movement for democratic reforms.
But authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing have only hardened their stance. Dozens of protesters were charged with rioting last week while the Chinese military said it was ready to quell the “intolerable” unrest if requested.
