Hong Kong police say they arrested 12 protesters who were blocking several roads in the Mong Kok district overnight Wednesday as pro-democracy demonstrators returned to the site hundreds had occupied for more than two months.
In a statement Thursday, police said officers used pepper spray and batons to break up the protest and arrested demonstrators on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer to failing to produce proof of identity. The statement said two police officers were injured in the operation.
In recent months, thousands of protesters occupied three busy Hong Kong neighborhoods to demand that residents of the semiautonomous city be allowed to elect their chief executive in 2017 from an open list of candidates. In August, China’s government ruled that candidates for Hong Kong’s top leadership post must be approved by a committee heavily loyal to Beijing.