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John Sudworth: China's "biggest challenge from the street in decades"
Hong Kong police are arresting pro-democracy activists and clearing the main protest camp at Admiralty, after more than two months of demonstrations.
Many left as bailiffs and police removed the camp's barricades but some vowed to stay despite police warnings.
Police began their operation early on Thursday in what is widely seen as the final act in the long-running protests.
The number of protesters has dwindled in recent weeks from the tens of thousands who turned out in September.
They want Beijing to allow free elections for the territory's next leader in 2017. China says everyone can vote but a pro-Beijing committee will screen candidates.
Police officers started to clear the camp and dismantle tents after issuing orders for protesters to vacate the "occupied area" within 30 minutes or face arrest.
Among those reportedly arrested were opposition Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, student leader Nathan Law, media tycoon Jimmy Lai and singer Denise Ho.
As police approached the last remaining protesters, Alex Chow, head of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, rallied the crowds, saying the fight was not over, AP reports.
Meanwhile, a dozen people who opposed the protests turned up to cheer on the police, the South China Morning Post reports.
Earlier in the morning, bailiffs read out a final warning to protesters shortly before workers, backed by police, moved in and began dismantling barricades in one section of the site, using box cutters to remove ties.
Footage from the scene showed police tearing down supply and first aid tents, as well as a study area used by students.
Trucks with cranes were also used to pick up debris left behind from the broken barriers, plastic sheets and umbrellas.
At the scene: John Sudworth, BBC NewsThis is probably one of the most photographed evictions in global history. Hundreds of journalists and photographers have been crowding around each barricade as it is methodically taken apart by the team of white-helmeted workers employed by the bailiffs.
From one elaborately-constructed blockade I watched them pull bamboo scaffold poles, concrete blocks and a bus stop. The hand-written protest banner above it all read; It's just the beginning.
There may yet be pockets of resistance but this chapter of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement is surely coming to an end. Police say all the tents, banners and art work along this half-mile stretch of highway will be swept away by midnight tonight.
Who is still on Hong Kong's streets?
Clearance in pictures and tweets
'Non-violent approach'The clearance is the result of a court order obtained by a bus company which says the protests have disrupted its business.
While the order covers three portions of the Admiralty site, including the main Connaught Road area, Hong Kong police spokesman Cheung Tak-keung said officers would also clear blocked roads.
He said they would clear away barricades from a second protest site at Causeway Bay site "at an appropriate time". About 20 people remain there, the South China Morning Post reports.
Some pro-democracy politicians have joined the students at the site and academics and a police watchdog are monitoring the clearance operation.
Some protesters, however, packed up their tents as Thursday dawned.
"I'll probably leave just before the action because my job would be difficult if my name was recorded by police," one 29-year-old protester told AFP news agency.
Hong Kong protests: Timeline- 28 Sept: Occupy Central begins, as activist group brings forward its campaign after students flood the streets; police fire tear gas. Public anger brings more people out.
- Late Sep to mid October: Major rallies that swell at weekends take place at three protests sites, but numbers slowly dwindle.
- 21 Oct: Talks between student leaders and Hong Kong government go ahead - but go nowhere.
- 26 Nov: Clashes erupt as Mong Kok protest camp is cleared.
- 3 Dec: Occupy Central leaders end campaign and present themselves to police; student protests continue.
How the past two months of protests have evolved
Clashes erupted when a third protest site, at Mong Kok, was cleared last month. On Wednesday, Hong Kong's top civil servant Carrie Lam urged students to leave the Admiralty site peacefully.
Later that night, more than 10,000 people gathered at the protest site, chanting pro-democracy slogans in what many saw as a farewell to the current demonstrations.
At their height, the protests were seen as the biggest challenge to Beijing's rule in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover.
Rallies in late September and early October saw huge crowds on the streets. But numbers fell as weeks passed and many Hong Kong residents also spoke out against the protests because of disruption to the city.
Beijing has not moved from its position on Hong Kong's election process, describing the demonstrations as illegal.
Are you in Hong Kong? Email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
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