Police stormed another MTR station, Tai Koo, forcefully arresting protesters, including the well-known grandmother Alexandra Wong, 63, who has been a persistent figure at democracy protests, waving a giant Union Jack flag since June.

Riot police rushed down the Tai Koo station escalators, beating protesters with batons and reportedly throwing one black-clad protester down the steep escalators. Tear gas was fired at close range at a crowd of protesters at the top of the escalator.

Radio Television Hong Kong reported that nearby residents came down to Tai Koo streets from their apartments in response. They chanted at police, telling them to leave.

The Civil Rights Observer group condemned the use of tear gas in an enclosed space at the Kwai Fong MTR station, saying it was "extremely dangerous" and threatened the safety of citizens. The group said its use was in breach of the safety guidelines from weapons suppliers.

The close media focus on the clashes has proven unpopular in one quarter.

Two journalists from the national broadcaster, Radio Television Hong Kong, were beaten by pro-Beijing thugs in Northpoint on Hong Kong Island on Sunday night. One was punched in the face and the other beaten with a stick, the broadcaster said.

A large group of men of Fujian descent had gathered on North Point streets preparing to attack democracy protesters if they arrived, but instead turned their anger on media crews, the station reported. Hong Kong police intervened on multiple occasions to stop the men attacking journalists.

A dozen police appear to have dressed in black as protesters, wearing masks, before making multiple arrests in the popular shopping district of Causeway Bay. A protester was shown on the ground bleeding from the head as plainclothes police arrested him.

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Large volumes of tear gas were fired in the Kowloon tourist area Tsim Sha Tsui, where a dozen protesters were arrested and police were seen sprinting down the street in pursuit.

In Wanchai, known for its sports bars and red light district, passengers emerging from the subway were also affected by tear gas.

Despite a police ban on all but one rally at Victoria Park, democracy protesters again took to the streets on Sunday in "flash mobs".

The Golden Bauhinia statue, a gift from Beijing to mark the 1997 handover from Britain to China, was spray painted. The cross-harbour tunnel was briefly closed.

The South China Morning Post newspaper reported a police officer was hurt by a petrol bomb and taken to hospital, with at least nine other people hospitalised on Sunday night. One woman was understood to be undergoing surgery after police shot her in the eye.