In this image made from video, a protester is arrested by police at a shopping mall in Sha Tin district in Hong Kong, with shoppers watch from balconies above, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. The rally, which had a Christmas shopping theme, was the latest in a series of demonstrations, which have beset Hong Kong for more than six months.(AP Photo) #HK

Hong Kong riot police broke up a solidarity rally for China's Uighurs on Sunday - with one officer drawing a pistol - as the city's pro-democracy movement likened their plight to that of the oppressed Muslim minority. The initially peaceful rally descended into chaos when a small group of protesters removed a Chinese flag from a nearby government building and tried to burn it, an AFP reporter on the scene said. Organisers stopped the flag being burned but riot police then swooped in with pepper spray, sparking anger from the crowd who threw water bottles. #HK

Mass ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong showed no sign of abating on Christmas day with protesters marching through several shopping malls and chanting pro-democracy slogans. It comes a day after violent clashes with the police left a festively-decorated prime tourist district shrouded in tear gas. The protests, which escalated in June, have been largely peaceful for much of December after pro-democracy candidates overwhelmingly won district council elections the month before. But Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leaders have made no concessions to the protesters, despite acknowledging their defeat in the polls, and the rallies have turned more confrontational over the festive period. 'Confrontation is expected, it doesn't matter if it's Christmas,' said Chan, a 28-year-old restaurant worker who was part of a crowd which exchanged insults with police outside a shopping centre in the Mong Kok district. #HK

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT! Hong Kong riot police arrested at least 15 people in clashes Saturday with dozens of pro-democracy protestors who targeted a mall near the border with China to demonstrate against mainland tourists and shoppers. The fresh unrest ended a brief calm after protestors had battled riot police in shopping malls and streets of commercial districts across the city for three days over the Christmas period. About 100 protesters marched through the mall shouting, 'Liberate Hong Kong!' and 'Return to the mainland!' On Saturday afternoon, masked plain-clothed officers wielding batons arrested 14 people, including a 14-year-old girl, who were protesting inside the mall in Sheung Shui district, forcing shops to shut and harassing shoppers, a reporter at the scene said. Riot police charged into the mall to reinforce the officers and used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of residents who gathered to protest against the arrests. #HK

New riots in Hong Kong. Riot police use tear gas to disperse protesters. Dozens of people were arrested. The government of HK is not actually elected by the people living there, it tried to enact a law to extradite people to china, people protested for months, many people were arrested during the protests in order to scare the populace, using a law that allows arresting "rioters", however the people protesting weren't engaging in violent angry damaging for their own fun, but in setting signals that communicate that the people of HK disagree with the governance (only way, as they don't get to vote). #HK