Police fire tear gas at Hong Kongers defying ban on 'anti-triad' rally

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police fired tear gas on Saturday at protesters holding a banned rally against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators near the Chinese border last weekend, tipping the finance hub further into chaos.

Riot police fired dozens of rounds of tear gas in Yuen Long, a town close to the border, after tense standoffs with protesters, some of whom were throwing projectiles and had surrounded a police van.

Public anger has been raging since last Sunday when a gang of men in white T-shirts, armed with poles and batons, set upon anti-government protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long station.

That brazen assault — which hospitalised at least 45 people — marked an escalation of seven weeks of unprecedented political violence that shows little sign of abating as the city's pro-Beijing leaders refuse to budge.

Police have been heavily criticised for being too slow to respond to Sunday's violence, fueling accusations of collusion or turning a blind eye to the pro-government mob — allegations the force has denied.

Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history after millions of demonstrators took to the streets and sporadic violent confrontations erupted between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The demonstrations were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, but have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms Saturday's violence compounds the political crisis.