Two Hong Kong students who rose to fame during pro-democracy demonstrations that angered Beijing last year were charged on Tuesday with obstructing police during a protest earlier in the year.
The Hong Kong government on Wednesday cemented its support for China's plan to pre-screen candidates for the city's 2017 leadership election, just weeks after authorities cleared the streets of protesters pushing for greater democracy.
China's central government fully approves of the leadership of Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying and the work of the territory's government which has shown itself "unafraid of challenges", Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday.
Hong Kong police arrested pro-democracy activists and cleared most of the main protest site on Thursday, marking an end to more than two months of street demonstrations in the Chinese-controlled city, but many chanted: "We will be back".
Thousands of pro-democracy activists forced the temporary closure of the Hong Kong government's headquarters on Monday after they clashed with police outside, defying orders to retreat after more than two months of sustained protests.
Hong Kong authorities encountered little resistance as they began clearing part of a pro-democracy protest camp in the bustling district of Mong Kok on Tuesday following a court order to reopen a road.
Hong Kong's acting chief executive on Tuesday called on pro-democracy protesters to clear sites they have occupied for more than six weeks and warned holdouts they could face arrest, a move that could swell protest numbers.
A leader of Hong Kong's student protests called on Thursday for a respected intermediary to help arrange a trip to Beijing where the students want to make their case to China's leaders for greater democracy in their city.
Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters clashed with police in the densely populated district of Mong Kok early on Thursday as tensions escalated at one of three remaining demonstration sites for the first time in more than two weeks.
China has often accused "foreign forces" of trying to destabilize free-wheeling Hong Kong during the current pro-democracy protests, with a garrulous expat American emerging as a key target of attack.
Three journalists were roughed up on Saturday evening in Hong Kong after being confronted by pro-government protesters holding a rally to oppose a four-week long "Occupy" movement of the financial hub's streets by pro-democracy demonstrators.
A deepening sense of impasse gripped Hong Kong as pro-democracy protests entered their fourth week, with the government having limited options to end the crisis and demonstrators increasingly willing to confront police.
Violent clashes erupted early on Sunday in a Hong Kong protest hotspot as unarmed pro-democracy activists once again confronted riot police despite the confirmation of talks between protest leaders and officials early this week.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists recaptured parts of a core protest zone early on Saturday, defying riot police who had tried to disperse them with pepper spray and baton charges.
Hong Kong police arrested 45 pro-democracy protesters in the early hours of Wednesday, using pepper spray on those who resisted, as they cleared a major road in the Asian financial center that had been barricaded with concrete slabs.
Hong Kong's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying vowed on Sunday to stay in office, warning students demanding his resignation that their pro-democracy movement was out of control.
Hong Kong student protesters said on Friday they were determined to maintain their campaign for full democracy, undaunted by the city government's rejection of talks aimed at defusing a standoff that has shaken communist China's capitalist hub.
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong agreed with the city's government late on Tuesday to start formal talks later this week to address concerns that have brought tens of thousands of people onto the city's streets.
Student leaders in Hong Kong called on pro-democracy supporters on Sunday to decamp from outlying protest sites and join the bulk of demonstrators in the heart of the Asian financial center as they gear up for a potential showdown with police.
Hong Kong pro-democracy protest leaders said they would unblock access to government buildings to allow civil servants to go back to work next week, but defied calls from the Chinese-controlled city's leaders to end their demonstrations.
Fresh scuffles broke out on Saturday between Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters and opponents of the week-long demonstrations, reigniting concerns that the Chinese-controlled city's worst unrest in decades could take a violent turn.
