<span style="color: #222222;">Hong Kong was readying for a massive pro-democracy rally after seeing in the New Year with an evening of peaceful protests. But, these turned into tear gas-choked clashes between hardcore demonstrators and police.<br />''<br />''Thousands gathered before midnight across the financial hub, including along Victoria Harbour and at a nightlife hotspot.<br />'' <br />''The city has been battered by more than six months of unrest with millions marching.<br />''<br />''Confrontations in which police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets have also taken place, while protesters have responded with petrol bombs.<br />''<br />''Police have arrested nearly 6,500 people since June – nearly a third of them aged under 20.</span><br />