Police cut down bamboo barricades with chainsaws in Hong Kong’s business district today to clear a route for traffic, as hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators continued a third week of protests in the Chinese territory.

Hundreds of protesters remained at three main sites in the city after sleeping in tents overnight, but did not resist the police action.

Dozens sat on a main road near the headquarters of some major banks after police issued a warning that they may make arrests.

“We have sat down and are waiting to be arrested. This is one of the only ways we can make it harder for police to clear the sites,” protester Elizabeth Wong, 26, told dpa .

Police finished clearing a path for traffic on the main Queensway thoroughfare by mid-morning but left tents and some barricades at the protest area outside government headquarters.

“Occupy will not retreat - there’s no way to retreat,” said student leader Alex Chow, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.

Protesters, aided by construction workers, had used bamboo, concrete and plastic wrap to rebuild barriers yesterday after a group of masked men provoked scuffles and removed barricades earlier that day.

Three men were arrested after the incident on suspicion of possessing dangerous weapons and common assault.

Patience appears to be wearing thin among workers and business owners who say they have lost business during the past few weeks of the protests.

The demonstrators are calling for open elections for the city’s next chief executive in 2017, rejecting a ruling from Beijing that candidates must be approved by a government-backed election committee. They have also demanded the resignation of Hong Kong’s leader, Leung Chun-ying.

- dpa