Hong Kong braces for fresh unrest as protesters look to embarrass Beijing on China's 70th anniversary

Government in Hong Kong has been forced to scale down official celebrations

Pro-democracy supporters wave their cellphones and sing songs during a rally inside a shopping mall in Kowloon on Friday (Getty)

Hong Kong is bracing for a series of protests leading up to the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic’s of China on Tuesday, with major rallies planned over the weekend and on the day itself.

Police have given permission for a demonstration on Saturday at Tamar Park, near the headquarters of the under-fire Legislative Council, that will also mark five years since the beginning of the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

A march is planned on Sunday starting at Victoria Park, the scene of many recent gatherings, to mark Global Anti-Totalitarianism Day. Similar events will be held across the world in cities including London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Taipei and Kiev.

And on Tuesday, a major national holiday across the whole of China, the government in Hong Kong has been forced to scale down official celebrations by calling off an annual firework display and moving a reception indoors.

The Civil Human Rights Front, one of the city’s main protest groups, says it plans to use the day to call for greater democracy and embarrass Beijing with another big march, prompting fears of a potentially bloody showdown.

Hong Kong has been rocked by sustained protests since June, in what has snowballed into the biggest political crisis since the city was returned to China by Britain in 1997.

Protesters initially wanted the withdrawal of an unpopular bill that would have made it easier to deport criminal suspects to the mainland, but now have a string of demands that include the removal of Beijing’s involvement in Hong Kong leadership elections.

On Friday, police said they were “alarmed” at official statistics showing students and young people accounted for 29 per cent of the nearly 1,600 protesters detained since the unrest began.

Tse Chun-chung, the police’s public relations chief, said a 13-year-old girl was among those arrested – in her case, for desecrating Chinese flags.

He said that despite the resumption of classes after the summer holiday, 207 high school and university students had been detained this month alone.

And there was a general spike in the number of teenagers committing violent crimes he said, with a 16-year-old charged with arson and others with attacking police officers and carrying dangerous weapons.

“It is an alarming trend to us,” he said at a news conference. “It is worrying to see these youths breaking the law and possibly having criminal records at such a young and tender age.

“We appeal to all youngsters to rethink their actions and hope the education sector and parents will help our young people to walk the straight and narrow path.”

Mr Tse urged people to assemble peacefully over the coming days, and not to allow the approved marches and rallies to be hijacked by violent elements. Previous protests have seen demonstrators use petrol bombs, set off street fires and vandalise public utilities.

Police have responded with tear gas, water cannons and other anti-riot gear, prompting complaints from protesters that they are using excessive force.

Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive who has faced repeated calls to stand down, hosted a town hall-style session on Thursday in a bid to improve relations between the government and its people.

She quietly listened for two hours to a series of jabs from an antagonistic audience that vented anger at her failure to give in more to the protest movement. So far, her promise to completely withdraw the unpopular extradition bill has been the only concession.

But she was also forced to stay holed up in the building where the event took place for more than four hours after it finished, to wait for an angry demonstration outside to dissipate.

Analysts said the town hall might have bought some goodwill, but was unlikely to change much before this weekend’s rallies.

“Carrie Lam showed some sincerity,” said Willy Lam, a professor at the Centre for China Studies at Hong Kong’s Chinese University. “She has the guts to face opposition but still it’s not good enough.

“It was a good occasion for people to reduce pent-up anger, but it will not cool down emotions because there were no concrete reconciliatory moves.”

Additional reporting by agencies