Last checked at 
* Anti-government protesters march through shopping malls
* Riot police fire tear gas in popular protest area of Mong
Kok
* HK leader says Christmas Eve celebrations have been
"ruined"
(Adds details)
By Donny Kwok and Mari Saito
HONG KONG, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Hong Kong anti-government
protesters marched through Christmas-decorated shopping centres
on Wednesday, chanting pro-democracy slogans and forcing one
mall to close early, as police fired tear gas to disperse crowds
gathering on nearby streets.
The protests have turned more confrontational over the
festive season, though earlier in December they had been largely
peaceful after pro-democracy candidates overwhelmingly won
district council elections.
Despite the embarrassing results, Hong Kong's pro-Beijing
leaders have made no new concessions.
"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 several neighbourhoods 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 expletives at the unpopular officers, who have
been accused of using excessive force, police briefly fired tear
gas in Mong Kok, a popular protest area.
Police describe their reaction to the unrest as 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.
CHRISTMAS 'RUINED'
Baton-wielding police fired tear gas on Tuesday at thousands
of protesters who barricaded roads and trashed a Starbucks cafe
and an HSBC branch.
The city's leader Carrie Lam said in a Facebook post on
Wednesday that many Hong Kongers 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."
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.
HSBC has become embroiled in a controversy
involving a recent police crackdown on a fund-raising platform
supporting protesters. HSBC denied any connection between the
crackdown and its closure of an account linked to the group, but
remains the target of protester rage.
Starbucks has been targeted after the daughter of the
founder of Maxim's Caterers, which owns the local franchise,
publicly condemned the protesters.
DINNER WITH STRANGERS
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.
While protesters have repeatedly vandalised businesses they
believed to have ties with pro-Beijing figures, they
deliberately supported those which have offered them shelter
from tear gas or free water during hot summer marches.
One eatery in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist area organised a
Christmas dinner for protesters, with hundreds queuing outside
for a free plate of noodles or fried chicken.
"It’s my first time going to a buffet with strangers, but we
share the same goals ... so it feels like a meaningful way to
spend Christmas," said private tutor Kenny, 46, who was eating
outside the diner.
(Additional reporting by Lucy Nicholson, Ronn Bautista, Felix
Tam and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Marius Zaharia, Editing by
Gareth Jones and Ed Osmond)
