Mall brawls and street fights as Hong Kong polarisation deepens

Fights erupted in Hong Kong on Saturday with political rivals trading blows in a mall and Beijing supporters using Chinese flags to assault opponents on a street, deepening the city's polarisation after months of pro-democracy protests.

The once-stable international hub has been convulsed by weeks of huge, sometimes violent rallies calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.

The movement is the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city was handed back by Britain in 1997 and shows no sign of ending, with city leaders and Beijing taking a hard line.

Fights have begun breaking out with increased frequency after pro-democracy supporters began holding impromptu singalongs of a popular protest anthem -- and as pro-Beijing supporters have held rival gatherings to sing China's national anthem.

In the district of Fortress Hill on Saturday, a group of men, many waving Chinese flags and wearing blue t-shirts declaring "I love HK police", attacked people perceived to be pro-democracy protesters.

Multiple videos posted online showed the group of men assaulting largely younger victims with large flags on poles -- and with punches and kicks -- as terrified onlookers ran away.

Hong Kong police did not respond to a request for comment on the incident. Fortress Hill is next to North Point, an area of the city where similar mob attacks by government supporters have occurred this summer and which has long been a bastion of pro-Beijing sentiment.

Shortly before the assaults, the men were filmed tearing down post-it notes and posters on a nearby "Lennon Wall", pro-democracy billboards which have sprung up across the city.

Within hours, the wall was back up as crowds put up new slogans and messages.

"It makes me so angry," a 37-year-old local pro-democracy protester, who gave her first name as Ed, told AFP.

"These walls are a form of emotional support, it shows the movement is still alive. But even if they destroy it, we will just build it again."