Tear gas fired at protesters in Hong Kong as thousands march in Yuen Long

Hong Kong police fired tear gas at swung their batons at protesters who defied warnings not to march in the Yuen Long area where just days ago a mob apparently targeting demonstrators attacked people in a train station.

Protesters dressed all in black streamed through Yuen Long, despite police refusing to grant permission for the march due to the risk of confrontation between demonstrators and local residents.

By nightfall, protesters and police were once again facing off in the streets – as they have done several times previously during the summer-long pro-democracy protests.

Demonstrators threw objects and ducked behind makeshift shields, and police officers shot plumes of tear gas into the air.

For the protesters, it was a show of defiance against both the police and the white-clad assailants who beat dozens of people on July 21, including some demonstrators heading home after a mass protest.

Police said some of the attackers at the train station were connected to triad gangs and others were villagers who live in the area.

Demonstrators accused police of not acting quickly enough to protect the victims and even colluding with the mob – an allegation police have firmly denied.

Protesters hoist a US flag as they face off with riot police. Credit: AP

The streets of Yuen Long became a sea of umbrellas as the march began on Saturday afternoon.

A symbol going back to the Occupy Central protests that shook Hong Kong in 2014, umbrellas have become tools to help protesters conceal their identities from police cameras as well as shields against tear gas and pepper spray.

"Hong Kong police know the law and break the law," protesters chanted as they made their way through the streets.

Max Chung Kin-ping, one of the rally’s organisers, said there were 288,000 participants.

The police are yet to release their turnout figure, which is generally lower.

Thousands of people had joined the latest in a series of protests on the streets of Hong Kong. Credit: AP

Less than three hours after the start of the march, police fired tear gas to try to disperse crowds that had ignored authorities’ appeals to leave the area.

Police said in a statement they were clearing out the protesters, who were “holding iron poles, self-made shields and even removing fences from roads”.

Some protesters also endangered police officers’ lives by surrounding and vandalising an occupied police vehicle, the statement added.

A protester steps on a poster depicting former Chinese premier Li Peng, who passed away recently, with the words “June 4th Butcher” Credit: Vincent Yu/AP/PA

Massive demonstrations began in Hong Kong early last month against an extradition Bill that would have allowed suspects to face trial in mainland China, where critics say their rights would be compromised.

The bill was eventually suspended, but protesters’ demands have grown to include direct elections, the dissolution of the current legislature and an investigation into alleged police brutality in the Chinese territory.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 under the framework of "one country, two systems".