Hong Kong protests escalate after university student's death

Hong Kong's anti-government protesters have escalated their demonstration after a university student, Chow Tsz-Lok, who took part in a rally on November 9 died on Friday.

HK police was called to six locations, including a commercial place to contain the protesters, NHK World reported.

The protesters also asked students to boycott school on Monday.

On Saturday, the city police arrested three pro-democracy lawmakers and filed charges against an equal number as protesters mourned the death of the 22-year-old man who succumbed to injuries which he sustained after he fell from a parking garage during the ongoing clashes.

The arrests of lawmakers, who were detained and charged with obstructing the local assembly during a rowdy meeting on May 11 over the extradition bill, could further stoke the protest movement, Al Jazeera reported.

Pro-democracy legislators claim that the clampdown was a calculated move after Chow's death to provoke more violence, which would then be used as an excuse to postpone or cancel November 24 district elections, which will be viewed as a barometer of public sentiments amid the unrest.

Since early June, Hong Kong has been in the throes of protests triggered by a bill that would have allowed the extradition of accused individuals to mainland China for trial under a judicial system with little guarantee of rights.

Though officials formally withdrew the bill, public anger continued by the refusal to address protesters' demands for an independent inquiry; amnesty for the nearly 600 people charged with offences stemming from the protests; a retraction of police claims that protesters are guilty of rioting, and universal suffrage to elect the full legislature and chief executive.

Moreover, calls for disbanding, or at least reorganising the police forces have grown in recent weeks.