HONG KONG: China's semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong has been rocked since April by increasingly violent protests that were sparked by a proposed extradition law and broadened into demands for democratic reform.
Here is a summary:
Thousands on the streets
On April 28 tens of thousands of people march peacefully against a local government bill that would allow, for the first time, extraditions to mainland China.
It is one of the biggest protests in the city in recent years.
There are fears the law will tighten Beijing's grip on civil society and allow it to pursue its political enemies in Hong Kong. The march ends without violence.
Violence erupts
Despite government tweaks to soften the law, tens of thousands more protest again on June 9, with brief clashes breaking out at the very end of the day.
Organisers say more than one million people join the largely peaceful demonstration, the biggest since the 1997 handover of the former British colony to China.
It descends into violence after midnight when police, using batons and pepper spray hoses, try to disperse small groups of protesters who hurl bottles and use metal barricades.
The police put the march turnout at 240,000 and make 19 arrests.
More clashes
On June 12 huge crowds block major roads and attempt to storm parliament, delaying the bill's second reading.
Police use tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds in the worst clashes since the handover. Nearly 80 people are injured.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam postpones the bill on June 15 but a fresh demonstration the next day calls for its full withdrawal.
Organisers say two million people take part. Police put the figure at 338,000.
Parliament ransacked
In the early hours of July 1, just ahead of an annual march to mark Hong Kong's return to China, young masked protesters take over key roads, sparking new clashes with police.
Later in the day hundreds smash their way into parliament and ransack the building, daubing its walls with anti-government graffiti. It takes police several hours to regain control.
On July 9 Lam says the extradition bill "is dead" but protesters dismiss her comments.
Demonstrators attacked
On July 21 protesters are back on the streets and police fire tear gas and rubber bullets. In the Yuen Long area, masked men -- suspected to be triad gangsters -- attack protesters inside a train station.
On July 28 there are running battles between police and pro-democracy protesters close to Beijing's office in Hong Kong. Security forces launch volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets.
There are clashes outside a police station in Kwai Chung district on July 30 after 44 protesters are charged with rioting.
Unrest spreads
On August 3 demonstrators erect barricades in the tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui. Riot police use tear gas.
The next day they fire tear gas again in the luxury shopping district of Causeway Bay, where thousands of protesters have seized roads and put up barricades.
On August 5 there is a city-wide strike and activists disrupt the subway system, paralysing much of the city and delaying scores of international flights.
For a third consecutive night, police confront hardcore protesters. The clashes are the most widespread so far, breaking out at more than a dozen locations.
Police say 148 people were arrested, the largest daily number since the protests kicked off.
On August 6 China warns that "those who play with fire will perish by it".
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