Hong Kong residents clash with activists on street

HONG KONG (AP) -- Pushing and yelling, hundreds of Hong Kong residents tried to force pro-democracy activists from the streets they were occupying Friday as tensions rose in the weeklong protests that have shut down parts of the city.<br /> <br /> The scuffles in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok district, one of several areas where protesters have camped out, were the most chaotic since police used tear gas and pepper spray last weekend to try to disperse protesters pushing for greater electoral reforms for the territory.<br /> <br /> Police were hard-pressed to keep order as the two sides tussled in a tense standoff. The visibly older people trying to force out the vastly outnumbered younger protesters were yelling, shoving and at times trying to drag them away.<br /> <br /> The protesters, led by university students, said that if authorities did not act to protect the unarmed, peaceful demonstrators, they would retract an agreement to hold talks with the city government as proposed by Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.<br /> <br /> "Stop the violence or we call off the talks," the groups of students and other activists said in a statement.<br /> <br /> The democracy activists linked arms and held hands as they tried to stand their ground against the huge crowd. Police formed cordons and escorted some of the protesters away as hundreds of onlookers chanted, "Go home!"<br /> <br /> In Causeway Bay, another area occupied by protesters, groups of young men in face masks were forced away from the protesters by police.<br /> <br /> Police spokesman Steve Hui appealed to the members of the public to "observe the laws of Hong Kong when they are expressing their views."<br /> <br /> The protesters have been in the streets since last Friday, pushing for the Chinese government to reverse its recent decision requiring a mostly pro-Beijing committee approve candidates for Hong Kong's first election to choose the territory's leader in 2017. The demonstrators want open nominations.<br /> <br /> The demonstrations are the biggest challenge to Beijing's authority since China took control of the former British colony in 1997.