The authorities in Hong Kong on Sunday stepped up security around China’s main representative office as protests broke out in the country against what people called an increasing cycle of violence against them, Reuters reported. This came a day after riot police had fired rubber bullets and tear gas to quell protests.

The protestors defied police orders and fanned out from a rally in a public square in central Hong Kong to condemn police behaviour towards demonstrators, The Guardian reported. The protests had initially been organised to oppose a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. This is reportedly the eighth straight weekend of protests in the city, according to AFP.

The demonstrators are demanding the right to universal suffrage and the resignation of the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam besides an independent inquiry into the use of excessive police force against protesters. However, Beijing has not yielded so far. Officials and state-owned media have accused the protestors of playing into the hands of foreign countries seeking to harm China.

The police fired multiple rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors in a densely populated neighbourhood. The protestors responded with bricks, eggs and other objects, as they took shelter behind makeshift barricades and umbrellas. Many of the protestors chanted slogans against the police. They had banners that read: “We rise as one, we fight as one” and “Stop violence”.

“Hong Kong doesn’t even have basic freedom of assembly. We have come here to make a symbolic expression,” an activist named Chan told Reuters.

“The police usually surround us and we have nowhere to go,” a protestor named Edward Ng was quoted as saying. “So we adjusted our strategy this time. This is much more fluid and flexible.”

Last Sunday, anti-government protestors had vandalised the walls of the Beijing representative’s office and defaced the national emblem. Following this, China had hinted that the military could be deployed in Hong Kong to maintain order and warned protestors it would not tolerate their efforts to threaten the central government’s authority.