"Any personnel change before the implementation of universal suffrage is achieved would only allow Hong Kong to continue to pick its leader under the Election Committee model," Leung said, before chairing the Executive Council’s weekly meeting.

Leung failed to offer any insight as to how the administration would deal with the protests triggered by Occupy Central and student leaders, such as whether officials could talk to activists and protesters directly, or whether it is possible to relaunch the political reform consultation process.

Leung said he expected the protests to "last for quite a long period of time". 

"They have set up a lot of resource centres and even first aid points, so we know that Occupy Central ... is not a matter of days, but it will last for a relatively long time. Its [impact] on the people’s daily lives, their personal safety in the event of emergencies, the city’s economic development, as well as the cost on international image will also grow bigger and bigger. I hope we can think about these issues," he said.

On universal suffrage, Leung said the Basic Law stated that chief executive candidates must be put forward by a nominating committee: "I understand that this is different from what some people wanted – such as [allowing] citizens to nominate candidates. But if we don’t follow the Basic Law, we can only stand still [on political development] ... We need to think rationally, peacefully and calmly; and I hope protesters and the protest organisers can think about what is [good] for Hong Kong’s biggest long-term interest."

Leung praised the police force for being a "high quality team that enjoys a high international reputation". He also called on Hongkongers not to believe rumours that the People’s Liberation Army or mainland police would be mobilised to help end the protests.

He said protesters should consider the feeling of bus passengers, as more than 200 bus routes were affected by the road blockades.

The chief executive has been emboldened by the support of the central government, which was reiterated in a report by the state-run Hong Kong China News Agency on Monday evening.

Leung continued to enjoy “the full trust” and “unwavering support” of the central government, an unidentified spokesman at the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said, according to a two-sentence report.

The statement comes hours after Hua Chunyu, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referred questions related to Hong Kong’s protests to the office on Monday afternoon, saying the turmoil in the city was a domestic matter.

The office last spoke out on Sunday, condemning the civil disobedience movement as an illegal action and expressing its confidence in the Hong Kong government’s ability to deal with the protests according to the law.

Protesters scrambled for cover in the early hours of this morning when a car sped through a crowd of demonstrators without slowing.

The grey Mercedes-Benz narrowly missed activists and police at the Occupy Central site in Mong Kok at around 1.45am before the driver abandoned the car and fled.

The 59-year-old driver, surnamed Cheung, was later arrested at his Kowloon City home for dangerous driving after reporters revealed his identity on social media.

No one was injured but the incident left the crowd jumpy and emotional for a few hours before organisers managed to restore order at the site. A new barricade was set up to prevent cars from entering the area again.

At dawn, protesters showed hands as they voted not to narrow the blocked off area in the district, which has sealed off Nathan Road from Prince Edward to Yau Ma Tei.

Protests last night were marked by false alarms and rumours of police clear-outs. The party-like atmosphere in Admiralty died down towards 2am as protesters were left on edge following the Mong Kok incident and rumours that paid thugs were going around stirring trouble.

“It’s obvious the government is now averting to dirty tricks if tear gas doesn’t work,” student Cassey Wong, 24, said.

In Causeway Bay, residents and the public showed up at the protest site in front of the Sogo department store yesterday night, with an estimated 30,000 people at the height of the protest. However, numbers dwindled through the night, with a few hundred left by daybreak.

The night was relatively quiet, marked by an occasional drunken argument between passersby and protesters, and false alerts of police sightings. Police negotiators appeared at 5.40am, speaking over a microphone, urging protesters to leave. They stayed for only five minutes.

Cheung Mei-bo brought her son to the protest site on his 10th birthday.

“It’s his first decade in this life – I want it to be special. He may be too young to know about democracy and universal suffrage, but I want to educate him early,” she said.

Like many, Cheung said police action on Sunday had prompted her to join Occupy, after riot officers fired 87 canisters of tear gas and used pepper spray and batons against protesters. Police said 41 people had been injured over the past three days.

At least three senior government advisers, including Francis Ngai Wah-sing, an associate member of the Central Policy Unit, resigned in protest at the police action.

Outside police headquarters on Arsenal Street, there was an overnight stand-off between protesters and police. It was estimated that over 1,000 protesters were sitting down in Arsenal Street and the flyover to Gloucester Road, facing hundreds of policemen.

The night remained relatively calm and more than half of the protesters left before dawn. Those who stayed were urged to bring friends to continue the Occupy movement.

The sit-ins took on a sometimes festive atmosphere, with three Britons even grilling sausages to boost the morale of protesters.

Smaller groups of protesters occupied parts of Yau Ma Tei and the area outside World Wide House in Des Voeux Road Central.

Occupy co-organiser Dr Chan Kin-man called for the public to sustain the protest movement. “Hongkongers are fearless towards tear gas, so I would not suggest protesters retreat at this moment,” he said, adding they should stay put at least until tomorrow, National Day.

Robert Chow Yung, a key member of an anti-Occupy group, questioned what the organisers hoped to achieve. “So Occupy Central has happened now. But what next?” he said.

Sections of Connaught Road Central, Chater Road and Des Voeux Road Central remain blocked in Central on Tuesday, albeit by unattended barricades. Traffic from Garden Road is normal, as is Queen’s Road Central and Pedder Street.

Overnight, the crowd converged from scattered parts of Central towards Admiralty. Most are now staying behind barricades near City Hall.

The huge public backlash has put the government on the defensive. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor strongly hinted that the government would postpone the next round of public consultation on the 2017 chief executive election, which was scheduled to start next month.

“Having considered [the recent development], we understand that the current social atmosphere is not conducive for such a consultation exercise,” Lam said. “So we would assess the timing and the situation further and do it at an appropriate time.”

The government also decided to cancel the National Day fireworks display tomorrow.

Protesters, meanwhile, have discovered a new – and most unlikely – symbol for the Occupy movement: the humble umbrella. The brollies were used to fend off pepper spray during Sunday’s clashes, giving the protests a catchy new name: “The Umbrella Movement”.