HONG KONG • Small groups of anti-government protesters gathered in malls across Hong Kong yesterday amid sporadic scuffles with riot police, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam away on a visit to Beijing.

In the peak shopping season ahead of Christmas, groups of masked protesters, clad in black, marched through malls chanting slogans including "Fight for freedom" and "Return justice to us".

In the Telford Plaza mall in Kowloon Bay, skirmishes broke out with riot police, who used pepper spray on crowds and wrestled several people to the ground before taking them away.

In the New Territories town of Shatin, masked demonstrators clashed with bystanders who were trying to prevent them from drawing graffiti on the walls and windows of a mall. Riot police moved in to the shopping centre to disperse the protesters.

Police fired one tear gas canister outside the New Town Plaza mall in Shatin and took away several people, according to media reports, after some entrances and walkways were blocked and glass panels smashed.

The police said in a statement that some shops had been damaged and that a smoke bomb had been set off. Many shops closed early.

Hong Kong has been embroiled in its worst political crisis in decades since June, with anti-government protests posing a populist challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping, complicating ties between China and the United States at a time of heightened tensions including over trade.

Demonstrators have railed against what they see as Chinese meddling in freedoms promised to Hong Kong when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. They also say they are responding to excessive use of force by the police.

While the police have been frequent targets of anger, several thousand people, shouting words of thanks to the police, turned up yesterday at a waterfront park in an unusual display of support.

Pro-police demonstrators described protesters as rioters and terrorists and police officers as gallant heroes. People made heart signs with their hands at officers, with some calling them heroes for their policing of six months of demonstrations. One woman yelled that they looked handsome in uniform.

"I'm not against the protesters. It's OK for them to speak, but in a peaceful way," information technology worker Max Cheng, who took part, told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, another gathering saw social workers peacefully reiterating demands, including for full democracy and an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality. Some called for more strikes, while others wrote Christmas cards to those who have been jailed.

In the evening, several hundred protesters held a vigil for a protester who fell to his death outside a luxury mall exactly six months ago after holding up a banner.

Some laid white flowers, as others softly hummed Sing Hallelujah to commemorate Mr Leung Ling-kit, known as "raincoat man" for what he was wearing at the time.

"He is the first person to die because of this revolution," said an 18-year-old known only as Tina. "I came tonight because I want to always remember that we can't give up and we have to keep fighting for freedom."

Mrs Lam is due to meet Mr Xi today in Beijing. Some observers say the visit could yield fresh directives, including a possible Cabinet reshuffle of key local officials.

Mrs Lam, however, seemed to play that down before the trip, saying the first task was to curb violence and restore order.

The government is also planning more public dialogue through social media channels, as well as a second planned town-hall session with top officials to try to bridge differences.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, ASSOCIATED PRESS