A prominent Hong Kong teen protest leader has said that he is going on a hunger strike after a failed attempt by pro-democracy activists to step up their flagging movement for democratic reforms by surrounding government headquarters.

Hong Kong authorities cleared street barricades from a pro-democracy protest camp in the Mong Kok district for a second day after a night of clashes in which police arrested 116 people.

Pro-democracy protesters have been defiant in the face of attacks by opponents and warnings by the Hong Kong government to clear the streets, staging a massive rally in the downtown business district they have occupied for a week.