Hong Kong Demonstrators Defy Protest Ban

HONG KONG—Police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters besieging the city’s government headquarters, as tens of thousands took to the streets in defiance of a police ban on antigovernment demonstrations.

Violence flared in the Admiralty area late Saturday afternoon after crowds occupied major roads in processions that stretched for miles through the city. In other districts, people of all ages held umbrellas in drizzling rain, chanting for freedom as social unrest stretched into a 13th weekend.

By about 5:30 p.m., police fired multiple volleys of tear gas...

Two prominent Hong Kong activists, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, were arrested Friday for participating in unauthorized assembly and inciting other protesters to do the same. Both have been released on bail. Hong Kong police have also denied organizers permission to hold a march planned for Saturday.

The two 22-year-olds are leaders of Demosisto, an organization that backs greater autonomy and self-government for Hong Kong. (Wong serves as secretary-general while Chow is on the standing committee.) Wong first entered protest politics during Hong Kong's "umbrella movement" of 2014. Those roughly...