<span style="color: #222222;">Tens of thousands of Hong Kong democracy activists gathered today for a major rally to show the city's leaders their protest movement still attracts wide public support despite mounting violence and increasingly stark warnings from Beijing.<br />''  <br />'' Ten weeks of demonstrations have plunged the financial hub into crisis with images of masked black-clad protesters engulfed by tear gas during street battles with riot police stunning a city once renowned for its stability.<br />'' <br />''Communist-ruled mainland China has taken an increasingly hardline tone towards the protesters, decrying the terrorist-like actions of a violent hardcore minority among the demonstrators.</span>