Occupy by stealth? Hong Kong protest camp grows as demonstrators mark six months of movement

Pro-democracy protesters are gathering at the site of Occupy Central's main camp to commemorate six months since the mass sit-ins began last year.

A tent community has been slowly expanding on the pavement outside the Admiralty government headquarters since police cleared Occupy's base camp on Harcourt Road and the adjoining roads in December, ending the 79-day mass sit-in.

The latest feature is a "study room", which started to fully function three days ago. With seven benches, lit by fluorescent tubes powered by charging packs, the corner is a smaller version of Occupy's study room on Harcourt Road at the height of the protests.

"I have grown accustomed to this place," said Chloe Lei Ho-yi, a Form Five student who came to study yesterday evening along with two friends after learning from social media about the return of the study room.

"I can do things here that I can't do in other study rooms: talking about political reform, parallel trading and the airport third runway. It's too quiet elsewhere," she said.