Pro-democracy demonstrators seized back part of Hong Kong 's bustling Mong Kok district Saturday after a night of scuffles . Spurred on by police attempts to reopen part of the district to traffic , the protesters ' numbers increased overnight , swelling to around 9,000 , according to Hong Kong police . By Saturday morning , the demonstrators had reclaimed the territory that they had ceded less than a day earlier . Amid the tussling , Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam , the government negotiator , announced Saturday that talks with pro-democracy protesters will take place Tuesday , with Lingnan University President Leonard Cheng as moderator . `` The meeting is expected to take place for about two hours , '' she said , adding that it will be broadcast live but not open to the public . The reaction from Yvonne Leung , spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Federation of Students , was lukewarm at best . She said in statement that the protest group did n't `` have much opinion '' about the details of the meeting . On the streets , meanwhile , the situation remains highly volatile , with the protests continuing through the weekend . Protesters crossed police lines , authorities said , clashing with officers as the situation turned violent . Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok Saturday called protesters in Mong Kok overnight `` radical , '' saying they were not protesting peacefully but instead carrying out violent acts and violating the public order . `` This caused chaos and dangers and had caused serious threats to public safety , '' he said . At least 240 people were injured over the past 24 hours , according to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority , which manages all public hospitals in the city . Eighteen police officers were injured , Hong Kong police said . At least 33 people were arrested and faced various charges , including property damage , disorderly conduct , weapons possession and resisting arrest , police said . Violence erupted after police conducted a dawn raid Friday on a student protest camp in the commercial and residential area of Kowloon . Authorities moved to clear a major intersection occupied by the pro-democracy protesters for almost three weeks , tearing down tents and dismantling barricades . Around 500 to 600 police carrying wire cutters and riot shields stormed the Mong Kok site , a smaller offshoot of the main downtown protest area , catching the 100 to 200 protesters by surprise . Police also used a crane to tear down makeshift structures . University student Adrian Lui , who had been at the protest camp for three days , said he was sleeping when the police moved in . `` They were running towards us with shields and at that moment we were nervous , '' he said . `` Lots of people got spooked and ran down side streets . '' Government offers talks . Hong Kong leader C.Y . Leung said Thursday that the government was eager to resume talks with the main student group as early as next week . However , he said the city 's tolerance of mass sit-ins was limited and the standoff could not carry on . One of the main student groups , the Hong Kong Federation of Students , said late Thursday it was willing to have dialogue . Street blockades can not continue . Protesters continue to occupy a major thoroughfare in Admiralty , close to the city 's financial district and government headquarters , but police have chipped away at the area held by protesters this week by removing barricades and opening roads to traffic . Smaller numbers . At the peak of the protest in early October , tens of thousands of people came onto the streets at three locations in Hong Kong -- Admiralty , Causeway Bay and Mong Kok -- to call for universal suffrage . But numbers have dwindled as the protests stretched into a third week . Protesters want to be able to nominate candidates for the election of the city 's chief executive in 2017 . Instead , China 's National People 's Congress has said they 'll be able to vote from a shortlist approved by a pro-Beijing committee . Leung said Bejing would not retract its decision . Currently , the chief executive is elected by a specially-appointed 1,200 member election committee . Hong Kong sees police force in new light . Protests : Who 's who ?
Security official says `` radical '' protesters cause `` serious threats to public safety '' Talks between government and protesters to take place Tuesday . Pro-democracy protesters swell to 9,000 in busy Hong Kong commercial district . Hundreds of people and a handful of officers are injured in the violence .