Hong Kong protests draw thousands, down from earlier rallies

Protesters are marching again in Hong Kong but in numbers that so far seem significantly reduced from rallies that drew many thousands as recently as last weekend.

A march in Kowloon on Saturday afternoon drew a couple of thousand people who marched peacefully, chanting slogans and braving a ferocious downpour.

Outside the police headquarters on Hong Kong Island, about 200 people, many of them retirees, also gathered peacefully, although some shouted abuse at officers who did not intervene.

The low-key protests lacked the numbers of some much larger demonstrations seen during the more than four months of unrest that have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

As recently as last Sunday, tens of thousands of masked protesters had hit Hong Kong's rain-drenched streets.