Hong Kong was hit by the worst violence it has seen in decades over the weekend as the World Trade Organisation talks came to an end.
The violence broke out on Saturday evening after four days of relatively peaceful protests with only minor clashes between police and protesters. Around 1,000 anti-globalisation activists fought running battles with police as they tried to break through police lines and gain access to the Hong Kong Convention Centre where the talks are talking place.
Police used tear gas and water cannon in an attempt to disperse the demonstrators, many of whom were Korean farmers, who tried to break police lines using iron bars and security barriers.
The area of Wan Chai where the talks were held was closed off and the public advised to stay away as a stand-off between the two sides continued until the early hours of yesterday morning.
Around 900 protesters were arrested and led away in buses to various police stations around the city. Police commissioner Dick Lee said that 41 people had been injured in the riots, including a small number of police officers. At least one protester remained in a serious condition last night
Despite the clashes, a planned protest march to coincide with the final day of the talks went ahead yesterday.
Thousands of protesters attended a rally in Victoria Park in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay before marching to the summit venue. The march passed off peacefully as thousands of curious onlookers lined the streets.
Towards the end of the march over 150 South Korean activists staged a sit-in outside the protest area near the convention and did not rule out more clashes with police.
They chanted "down, down, WTO" and held signs demanding the release of detained protesters.
The violence during Saturday's protest was not as severe as during past WTO talks in Cancun and Seattle. Hong Kong, however, is unaccustomed to violent protests and it was the first such clashes the city had seen since the 1960s when there were riots aimed at usurping British colonial rule.
Headlines in the local media have been dominated by the antics of the Korean farmers, who say that opening the Korean rice market to foreign competition under a WTO treaty would bankrupt them.
