Police clashed with activists at the main Hong Kong pro-democracy protest site Monday morning after a violent nighttime standoff when protesters surrounded government headquarters in the city 's Admiralty district . Authorities removed some tents and barricades at the main protest site before withdrawing . The site is currently calm . Protesters , following student leaders ' calls to escalate their civil disobedience movement , surrounded the government complex Sunday night and charged onto Lung Wo Road , a major east-west route next to the headquarters . Police used batons and pepper spray to push back demonstrators . Police and protesters were seen injured in the clashes , with protesters seen receiving first aid treatment from fellow activists , and police carried away on gurneys . The standoff continued Monday morning as police moved in on the main Hong Kong pro-democracy protest site , cutting down banners on a pedestrian overpass above thousands of tents inside the `` democracy village '' in Hong Kong 's Admiralty district . Before dawn Monday , at least 40 arrests had been made in Admiralty , according to the Hong Kong Police . A further 12 people were also arrested in Mong Kok . The Central Government Office was closed on Monday morning but later re-opened . The government said it condemned `` violent radicals , '' saying they had `` provoked and verbally abused police officers '' and encouraged others to charge police lines . `` We do not have any plan '' The current police operation is the boldest move authorities have made on the main protest site in nearly two months . Protesters seemed at a loss for how to respond , with arguments breaking out between student leaders and protesters even as police moved in . Winnie Ng , a demonstrator , told CNN `` We do not have any plan . '' This morning , a tweet from student leader group Hong Kong Federation of Students read `` We need your support in Admiralty right now . '' The tense standoff came at the end of a dramatic week in which Hong Kong authorities moved to dismantle protest camps in the city 's working-class Mong Kok district , arresting dozens and drawing accusations of brutality in the process . Protesters want their occupations to pressure the Chinese government into giving Hong Kong open elections for its next leader in 2017 . So far , officials have shown no willingness to give into protesters ' demands . The protests have drawn widespread international attention , although the Chinese government has rebutted any efforts by outside countries to `` interfere . '' On Sunday Sir Richard Ottoway , who chairs the British parliament 's Foreign Affairs Committee , said he and other lawmakers had been barred by China from making a planned trip to Hong Kong to assess the political situation . `` The Chinese government are acting in an overtly confrontational manner in refusing us access to do our job , '' he said .
Police and protesters face off again in tense scene in Hong Kong 's Admiralty district . The two sides have been locked in a standoff for more than three weeks over the future of China's former colony on reclaimed land at the southern tip of Hong Kong. At least 40 have been arrested , police tell CNN .