HONG KONG (REUTERS, XINHUA) - Hong Kong anti-government protesters marched through Christmas-decorated shopping malls chanting pro-democracy slogans on Wednesday (Dec 25) as police fired tear gas to disperse crowds gathering on nearby streets.

The protests have been largely peaceful for much of December after pro-democracy candidates overwhelmingly won district council elections the month before.

Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leaders have made no concessions to the protesters, despite acknowledging their defeat in the polls, and the rallies have turned more confrontational over the festive period.

"Confrontation is expected, it doesn't matter if it's Christmas," said Chan, a 28-year-old restaurant worker who was part of a crowd which exchanged insults with police outside a shopping centre in the Mong Kok district.

"I'm disappointed the government still didn't respond to any of our ... demands. We continue to come out even if we don't have much hope," said Chan, who only gave his surname.

Riot police patrolled past protest hotspots while tourists and shoppers, many wearing Santa hats or reindeer antlers, strolled past.

There were no major clashes, but with impromptu crowds forming to shout abuse at the deeply unpopular officers, who have been accused of using excessive force, police briefly fired tear gas in Mong Kok, a popular protest area.

Police say their reaction to the unrest has been restrained.

Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face masks, descended on shopping malls around the Chinese-ruled city, shouting popular slogans such as "Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times!"

Police arrested several people in a shopping mall in the Sha Tin district after pepper-spraying them. The mall closed early, with staff directing customers to leave. Other shopping centres remained open.

Baton-wielding police fired tear gas on Tuesday at thousands of protesters who barricaded roads, spray-painted slogans on buildings and trashed a Starbucks cafe and an HSBC branch.

A water cannon truck, flanked by armoured jeeps, roamed the streets, but was not heavily used. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that many members of the public and tourists were disappointed that their "Christmas Eve celebrations have been ruined".

"Such illegal acts have not only dampened the festive mood but also adversely affected local businesses," she said.

Meanwhile the Hong Kong government on Wednesday refuted a statement by Britain-based Hong Kong Watch about the so-called "police brutality" on the Christmas Eve, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

"There is nothing further from the truth in these false accusations and fabrications," a government spokesman said.

"The police had adopted a measured and restrained approach throughout. Only minimum force was deployed in response to the blatant unlawful activities of the violent protesters on the Christmas Eve."

The spokesman stressed that rioters set fires, vandalised shops and the Mong Kok Branch of HSBC, blocked roads, destroyed 21 sets of traffic lights, brutally assaulted innocent members of the public, and attacked police officers.

These unlawful activities undeniably and greatly affected public peace and safety and therefore necessitated police enforcement actions, he said.

The spokesman described the remarks by Hong Kong Watch's chairman that "Hong Kong witnessed truly outrageous police brutality on the Christmas Eve" as "fake, utterly irresponsible and grossly unfair."

This kind of myth and malicious falsehood s must be debunked forthwith as they have painted an entirely wrong image of Hong Kong overseas, and Hong Kong strongly believes in and strictly abides by the rule of law, the spokesman added.

INJURED OVERNIGHT

The Hospital Authority said 25 people had been injured overnight, including one man who fell from the second to first floor of a shopping mall as he tried to escape the police, and another who fell from the rooftop of a restaurant. It was unclear if the latter was related to the protests.

HSBC has become embroiled in a controversy involving a police crackdown this month on a fund-raising platform supporting protesters. HSBC denied any connection between the crackdown and its closure of a bank account linked to the group, but remains the target of protester rage.

Starbucks has also become a target of the demonstrators'anger after the daughter of the founder of Maxim's Caterers, which owns the local franchise, publicly condemned the protesters.

The protests started more than six months ago against a now-withdrawn bill which would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.

They have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement, with demonstrators angry at what they perceive as increased meddling by Beijing in the freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering, saying it is committed to the "one country, two systems" formula put in place at that time and blaming foreign forces for fomenting unrest.

"I am here because I want the world to support us," said 30-year-old Terry, in the Sha Tin mall. "We have been here for six months already so it makes no difference for us to be here on Christmas Day."