Hong Kong student protest leaders Joshua Wong, the 18-year old founder of the secondary school activist group Scholarism, and Lester Shum, and Shum, deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students were among those arrested amid heated confrontations as authorities attempted to clear demonstration camps in the Mong Kok district for a second day.
Joshua vowed that "We will still conduct our civil disobedience action until the last second, until the plaintiffs or the police arrest us."
The government, led by local business interests, set up bailiffs following complaints that the protests have disrupted life in parts of the city for nearly two months. Police warned that anyone obstructing the bailiffs in their work would face charges of contempt of court or obstructing an officer, and the police used force to obtain peace.
At Wednesday morning, 116 people had been arrested during the confrontation in Mong Kok for resisting police, illegal assembly, possession of weapons and attacking police. Lawmaker and pro-democracy activist Leung Kwok-hung, commonly known as "Long Hair," was among those arrested.
Tuesday's clearance effort began peacefully, with some protesters indicating their intention to relocate to other protest camps peacefully. But events spiraled into violence as crowd numbers swelled, and protesters joined in chants calling for universal suffrage and demanding the resignation of Hong Kong's chief executive, C.Y. Leung.
Prior to leaving on a trip to South Korea on Tuesday, Leung said he had confidence in police to handle the situation in Mong Kok and said the government remained willing to engage in dialogue on political reform.
Pro-democracy protesters have occupied camps in parts of the city for nearly two months, and maintain a main protest site outside government buildings in Admiralty on Hong Kong Island.
Calling for universal suffrage, they 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 only for candidates from a short list approved by a pro-Beijing committee.
Currently, a specially appointed 1,200-member election committee elects the chief executive.
At the peak of the protests in early October, tens of thousands of people were on the streets at three locations. But numbers have dwindled as the protests have continued, and recent local polling suggests support has dipped-only 13% of Hong Kong people support the protests.
Amongst the midst of chaos, what will the future of Hong Kong be?