A week into Hong Kong demonstrations notable for their order and endurance, protesters came under an attack highlighting the fault lines of a city torn between commercial interests and a desire for greater democracy.
After rain poured down on symbolic umbrellas, hundreds of men attacked protesters in the Mong Kok district, dismantling barricades and destroying a temporary shelter. The scuffles reflected an increasingly vocal loss of patience with the students who have shut down streets, disrupting transport and forcing businesses to close during one of the busiest retail weeks of the year.
"There's a growing backlash against the protesters," said Stan Hok-Wui Wong, an assistant professor of government and public administration at Chinese University of Hong Kong. "There are really lots of people's livelihoods, in terms of transportation, in terms of business. And there are people in Hong Kong that fear that if you push too hard then you may replicate the Tiananmen incident here."