Chinese president meets with Hong Kong's Carrie Lam after weekend of violent protests

China's President Xi Jinping met Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in Shanghai on Monday following a weekend of chaotic anti-government clashes in the former British colony that led Beijing to call for a tougher stance to end the months of unrest.

The Xinhua News Agency said the two leaders discussed the state of affairs in Hong Kong, and that Xi told the embattled Lam that the Chinese central government has a high degree of confidence in her and fully recognizes the work by her and her team.

But he also reportedly told her that stopping the violence and chaos, and restoring order, continue to be the top priorities for Hong Kong.

Lam was in Shanghai to attend the second China International Import Expo.

The city's Hospital Authority said three people were in critical condition, with another in serious condition, among a total of 30 injuries from Sunday.

Riot police stormed several shopping malls packed with families and children including Cityplaza in the eastern suburb of Tai Koo Shing on Sunday.

Protesters there had initially formed a human chain before facing off with police in skirmishes up and down escalators and spraying graffiti on a restaurant.

A man with a knife slashed several people and bit off part of a politician's ear. The wounded included a man believed to be the knife-wielder, whom protesters had beaten with sticks.

A student at Shue Yan University was hit by a tear gas canister and suffered a severe burn in a separate incident at the weekend, the university's student union said in a statement.

While the Chinese-controlled city and its many businesses function normally during the week, many protests have sprung up spontaneously on weekends over the past five months.

Pro-democracy protesters are campaigning against what they see as Chinese meddling with Hong Kong's promised freedoms.

China denies doing so and has blamed Western countries for stirring up trouble in the former British colony.

Protesters plan for Guy Fawkes Day

More demonstrations are planned this week as the protesters keep up pressure for demands such as an independent inquiry into police behaviour and for universal suffrage.

We really see that people are very heavy-hearted. They don't know what is going to happen tonight or maybe the next weekend. And there is a lot of worry," pro-democracy lawmaker Charles Mok told Reuters.

Protesters have circulated plans on social media to mark Guy Fawkes Day on Nov. 5 by putting on now banned face masks in areas around Hong Kong.

Many people taking to the streets in recent weeks have worn the white smiling Guy Fawkes masks, made popular by anti-establishment hackers and by the film V for Vendetta.

The masks have also become common at protests globally including in Britain and across the United States.

'Civil servants are ashamed'

Lam invoked colonial era emergency powers last month for the first time in more than 50 years, banning face masks in a move to quell the protests.

Protesters have largely ignored the ruling and worn masks.

The protests have divided society in Hong Kong, and undermined its economy, with the police coming in for particular scrutiny.

"Civil servants are ashamed of the crimes committed by the Hong Kong police force and the dictatorship of the Hong Kong government," said the Citizens' Press Conference, a pro-democracy group that plans a Monday night discussion on the clashes.

Worst violence in weeks

Chinese state media called for a "tougher line" against the protesters who vandalized state-run Xinhua news agency and other buildings, saying the violence damaged the city's rule of law.

Protesters smashed up and torched Xinhua's office on Saturday in some of the worst violence in weeks, setting fire to metro stations and vandalizing buildings, including an outlet of U.S. coffee chain Starbucks.

The city's Foreign Correspondents' Club expressed grave concern at the attack on Xinhua, stating that news organizations and journalists must be able to work in Hong Kong free from fear of attack and intimidation.

Mainland businesses, including banks or companies seen as supportive of China's ruling Communist Party, have been targeted by protesters angered by China's perceived undermining of Hong Kong's freedoms since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Police condemned the "rioters' violent and vandalistic acts" and vowed measures to uphold public safety.

Tear gas accidentally aimed at a fireman on Saturday had been intended to disperse rioters, the police said.

"There was misunderstanding in the verbal communication between both sides," they said on Monday. "The matter was tackled and resolved at the scene."