Democracy campaigners marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday, a day after 13 activists were arrested for erecting a Tiananmen Square remembrance statue in a busy shopping district.The march came ahead of an annual candlelit vigil this Friday -- which last year drew about 150,000 people -- to mark the anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on protesters at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.
On Saturday, activists erected a "Goddess of Democracy" statue in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district, local media reported -- a replica of one built by students during the Beijing protests 21 years ago.
Police scuffled with the group and arrested 13 activists before releasing them on bail later.
While Chinese authorities keep a tight lid on details about the Tiananmen protests, Hong Kong activists frequently cite the violent episode in their criticism of Beijing, which assumed control of the former British colony in 1997.
This weekend's protests come amid a bitter dispute over the future of direct elections in the territory, which has seen the city's democracy camp call for faster political reforms.
Five pro-democracy legislators resigned their seats in January in a bid to stoke what they said would be a de-facto referendum on the issue.
The resignations angered Beijing and split the city's pro-democracy movement.
Under the current electoral system, only half of Hong Kong's 60-seat legislature is directly elected while the rest is selected by the pro-China business elite. Campaigners want the entire parliament to be directly elected.