Due to the negative impact of the four-week long student-led protests in Hong Kong, more residents of the administrative region are expressing their disagreement with the mass movement.

A survey of over 1,160 adult respondents conducted by the Hong Kong Research Association between Tuesday and Thursday found that 68 percent of residents are not in favor of illegal assemblies which cause gridlocks and poor business. Meanwhile, while there is lesser public support for the protests, approval ratings for the authorities and police are on the rise, reports China Daily.

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On Sunday, protesters and police clashed anew ahead of a scheduled meeting between the government and student protest leaders on Tuesday. Educators foresee the situation taking a turn for the worse as Beijing indicated unwillingness to reverse a decision in August to give in to student demands for a full democracy.

"Unless there is some kind of breakthrough in two hours of talk on Tuesday, I'm worried we will see the stand-off worsen and get violent," Hong Kong Institute of Education Professor Sonny Lo warned, quoted by ABC.

Ahead of the Sunday clash, the survey found that disapproval of the demonstrations went up to 55 percent from 48 percent, while disapproval for protest organizers increased to 62 percent. On the other hand, support for government action improved to 56 percent and police action got a 61 percent rating, a 5 percentage point boost from the previous poll.

The clash in Mong Kok after midnight injured more than 20 people, including five police officers. Protesters justified their charging the police line in their bid to reclaim a major intersection.

In turn, the Hong Kong police used pepper spray to break up protesters who shielded themselves using umbrellas. Four protesters were arrested, while 400 to 500 officers were deployed to force the crowd 20 meters back to their original position.

Among the reasons behind the sagging support for the protests is the problem it causes commuters.

"This should end. The occupation caused traffic jams. Bus routes were switched to inconvenient places that made it hard for me to get to my destination," China Daily quoted 24-year-ld Geo Cheng, who had to walk in Mong Kok to make it to the cross-border bus bound for Guangzhou.

The change of bus routes adds 20 minutes to the daily travel of Benny Chiu via minibus to his office from Mong Kok. Chiu was quoted by China Daily as saying, "It's unacceptable to me that occupiers blocked the road again. We've heard your voice. But if you continue like this, the whole society may turn its back on you."

While U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese state Councilor Yang Jiechi had a "candid exchange" in Boston about the Hong Kong protests, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said that Yang told Kerry no nation should interfere in the administrative region since it is "purely an internal affair of China."

TagsMong Kok, Hong Kong, protests, rallies, protesters, poll, democracy, pro-democracy