Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters dramatically escaped a two-day police siege at a university campus by shimmying down ropes from a bridge and whisked away on motorbikes.<br />'' <br />'' Clashes rumbled into the early hours today between protesters and police who had threatened to use deadly force to dislodge activists holed up at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.<br />'' <br />'' The university siege has become a battle of wills between Hong Kong's stretched police force and the constantly innovating protest movement.<br />'' <br />'' In an apparently coordinated effort, tens of thousands of Hong Kongers streamed towards the university campus to break the siege, as clashes simultaneously raged with police nearby in Kowloon.<br />'' <br />'' Earlier yesterday, police arrested 51 people in connection with rioting, who claimed to be medics or journalists.<br />'' <br />'' A senior police officer claimed that 12 of purported medics had no first aid qualifications while another three people wearing press vests were also unable to provide credentials.<br />'' <br />'' China has refused to budge on any of the protesters' demands and warned it will not tolerate dissent in the financial centre home to 7.5 million people.<br />'' <br />'' Meanwhile, Airline SAS has reduced its number of flights to Hong Kong due to ongoing pro-democracy protests.<br />'' <br />'' The Scandinavian carrier said it was decreasing its five weekly flights from the Danish capital Copenhagen to four due to a drop in demand in November.<br />'' <br />''<br />''Protests started in June as a peaceful condemnation of a now-shelved China Extradition Bill, but have morphed into a confrontational action to defend the city's unique freedoms from perceived encroachment by Beijing.<br />