HK demonstrators reject official demands to end rallies

[HONG KONG] Demonstrators in Hong Kong on Tuesday rejected demands by the authorities to immediately end rallies that have paralysed the city's downtown. The protesters' numbers have swelled for a third night on the eve of a national holiday expected to put their campaign for free elections into overdrive.

Protest leaders are confident they can muster massive crowds overnight and into Wednesday for the National Day public holiday, which this year marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of Communist China.

Protesters rejected a call from the city's emb…