Hong Kong police dispersed more than 100 protesters in a city mall after they occupied a couple of floors in defiance of a government law banning gatherings of more than four people.

The demonstration follows the arrest last week of 15 pro-democracy activists and a lawmaker in connection with an unauthorized assembly last year. Protesters on Sunday carried posters calling for the liberation of Hong Kong.

On Friday, about 100 pro-democracy protesters rallied at a luxury downtown mall at lunchtime in one of the largest demonstrations since the Covid-19 pandemic descended on the city earlier this year, effectively halting pro-democracy protests that rocked the city since they began last June.

Hong Kong police rejected an application by a pro-democracy labor group to hold a march on May 1, citing concerns about public health and security risks, the government said in a statement on Friday.