the pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, delaying the delivery of newspapers for hours.

Police separated the two sides and arrested at least three people for assault and possession of weapons, before guiding counter-protesters away from the banking district as activists jeered: “You can collect your money now,” and chanted: “Give us real universal suffrage!”.

Hong Kong police had removed some barricades from protest sites early on Monday, prompting complaints by many protesters that they had made it easier for counter-demonstrators to move in. A leading pro-democracy group, Occupy Central, issued a statement urging police to "prevent certain people from damaging the peaceful occupy movement, and avoid any suspicion that the government may be trying to use the masses to attack the masses". But some opponents accuse activists of maligning them. “We are just ordinary citizens. Could all of us be triad gangsters? Some of us support the students’ demands but the way they’ve blocked major roads all over the city is extremely selfish,” says one

counter-protester.

Demonstrators have been calling on the government to re-schedule talks with student leaders which it cancelled last week. The government has paid little heed. Most senior officials were in the mainland city of

Guangzhou over the weekend, holding meetings with leaders from nine Chinese provinces to discuss regional economic integration.