Hong Kong marked
Christmas Eve with tear gas, petrol bombs and mall clashes on Tuesday night as battles between democracy activists and riot
police swept through a major shopping district.
![Hong Kong marks Christmas Eve with mall clashes and tear gas](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/8dd79289dec11162c73f6fc81a37938992e44b01.jpg)
Thousands of black-clad
protesters -- some wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers -- took to the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui, a usually bustling tourist district.
Clashes soon erupted, with riot police firing multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters throughout the evening, including outside the famous Peninsula Hotel.