Thousands of pro-democracy activists took to the streets of Hong Kong's financial center after organizers called for a massive civil disobedience campaign on Saturday.

The Occupy Central rally was originally planned on October 1. But following the escalation of tension between authorities and rallying students on Friday, Benny Tai, a prominent figure behind the Occupy Central movement, called for all Hong Kong residents to support the rallying students and take over the city's financial district.

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"Occupy Central starts now," said Tai in a dramatic speech that addressed thousands of protesters who were seeking greater electoral democracy in China's special administrative district on Saturday morning.

Thousands of students and academics from Hong Kong's universities and secondary schools have been staging street demonstrations against China's repressive policies on universal suffrage released last month.

The week-long protests began last week and has seen a series of defiant class boycotts, public talks and street demonstrations that have culminated with Friday's tensed encounter between protesters and the Hong Kong riot police.

One hundred fifty demonstrators broke through police cordon and stormed the city's government headquarters, prompting the riot police to use pepper spray to stop the charge. The clash led to the arrest of seventy-four student protesters.

Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old founder of the protest group Scholarism, along with two other prominent leaders behind the pro-democracy movement, was arrested and is still held by the police as of Sunday morning.

Many in the mostly youthful crowd whose number swelled overnight vowed to keep an open-ended campaign until Beijing's central government grants Hong Kong its electoral freedoms.

Claudia Ma, a member of the pro-democracy Civic Party, told AFP that she was profoundly touched with the youth who have joined the protest, citing that they know exactly what they are fighting for and the consequences of what they are doing.

They are not only fighting for democracy, according to Ma.

"They're fighting for humanity," she said.

The Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement demands Beijing to withdraw its decision to restrict Hong Kong's right to elect its future chief executive and to resume consultations for political reforms. 

TagsHong Kong, occupy central, Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, Occupy Central movement, Occupy Central with Love and Peace