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At least 34 people were injured on Sunday after a day of tense, unprecedented protests in Hong Kong saw local police use more force than perhaps at any other time since the city joined China in 1997.

Baton-wielding police officers fired volleys of tear gas in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to disperse pro-democracy demonstrators.

As many as tens of thousands of people took part in what initially began as peaceful demonstrations in the heart of the city on Friday, but by Sunday had devolved into chaos.

Defying official warnings that the demonstrations were illegal, the protests continued to spread late on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday.

Beyond the financial districts of Central and Admiralty, activists managed to block roads in the shopping district of Causeway Bay and even across the harbour in the bustling neighborhood of Mongkok in Kowloon.

Images and video footage taken of the protests depict violence previously unseen in a city used to peaceful demonstrations.

While many donned surgical masks, goggles and ponchos, not all were prepared for the sudden and highly unusual escalation in violence that saw police use tear gas for the first time in nearly a decade.

At stake -- whether the semi-autonomous region's future will be a democratic one and whether its citizens will be given the opportunity to choose Hong Kong’s top leader in free and fair elections.

It’s not yet clear what will come next, but this upcoming week, which coincides with China's national day holiday on Wednesday, may well be a pivotal one for the citizens of Hong Kong.

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