Democracy activists in Hong Kong rally to show peaceful credentials

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong democracy activists gathered yesterday for a major rally to show the city's leaders their protest movement still attracts wide public support despite mounting violence and increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.

 

Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the financial hub into crisis with images of masked black-clad



protesters engulfed by tear gas during street battles with riot police stunning a city once renowned for its stability.

Communist-ruled mainland China has taken an increasingly hardline tone towards the protesters, decrying the terrorist-like actions of a violent hardcore minority among the demonstrators