Hong Kong LIVE: Protesters defiant on Day 4 after a festive night on streets:-

The United States has chosen to react with caution, not openly condemning China, but urging the security forces to “exercise restraint” while dealing with the protesters. The White House also urged the protesters to act peacefully
The US has supported the peaceful protests by Hong Kongers, backing “universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the basic law”, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest in a statement.
According to China Digital Times, a string of search terms related to Hong Kong protests, has been blocked on China’s micro-blogging site Weibo. Authorities have also blocked Instagram in China.
As protesters refuse to budge, blocking streets and hitting transport, officials have reportedly decided to keep schools shut in some districts of Hong Kong on Tuesday because of safety concerns.
The current Hong Kong leader CY Leung is highly unpopular among the pro-democracy protesters and they have called for his resignation, warning that the history will condemn him, said the BBC.
According to local media reports, the organisers of the protest – that is a mix of students and the members of Occupy Central civil disobedience movement – have threatened to intensify their protests if the government does not give in to their demands by October 1, that is a holiday marking China’s National Day.
Monday night saw the pro-democracy protesters in an almost celebratory mood as they spent a merry night, singing and chanting.
Many people also participated in a mobile light vigil on Monday night as they held up their glowing cell phones.
The protesters, who have been camped on the streets for the fourth day today, want Hong Kong to have an independent election, untouched by Beijing’s bridle.
Hong Kong police clamped down harshly on the protesters in the beginning, using tear gas and pepper spray and detaining dozens, but the riot police were yesterday withdrawn by the authorities.
Hong Kong is witnessing an unprecedented demonstration by tens of thousands of people, protesting against China’s vetting of candidates for first-ever elections for Hong Kong’s leader scheduled for 2017.
China has so far been hand-picking the leaders of Hong Kong and even this time it insisted to use a screening committee to select the candidates for 2017 polls.
The protests that began a week ago in the form of a boycott by university and college students demanding electoral reforms, picked momentum on Sunday after the leaders of Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them, a day after the police crackdown on demonstrators turned ugly.