HONG KONG - OCTOBER 03: Anti-Occupy supporters chant at the Occupy camp in Causeway Bay on October 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. Thousands of pro democracy supporters continue to occupy the streets surrounding Hong Kong's Financial district. The protesters are calling for open elections and the resignation of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who last night agreed to hold talks with the protest leaders in a bid to diffuse the growing unrest. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) (Photo: )
HONG KONG -- Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong shelved talks with the city's government on Friday, accusing authorities of failing to protect the sit-in from violent attacks.
The announcement came after clashes had broken out between the student-led protesters and supporters of Beijing in the city's Mong Kok neighborhood earlier on Friday. Police struggled to keep the two sides apart.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students, a leading organizer of the protests, said in a statement Friday they saw no choice but to cancel the talks after the day's clashes.
The talks were proposed by Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying late on Thursday after nearly a week of massive demonstrations demanding greater democracy. Leung vowed to stay on as the city's top leader, despite calls for his resignation.
While some protesters blamed the police for not stopping the violence in Mong Kok, others alleged the clashes were instigated by the government.
In the Admiralty neighborhood, a center of the democracy protests which remained largely peaceful amid Friday's violence, 29-year-old Grayson Wong, said he supported the students' decision to cancel talks.
"The government has been doing some dirty things and the violence is all coming from the government," he said, citing friends who witnessed the violence.
College student Calvin Chan, 20, said he was increasingly distrustful of the police after the clashes broke out on Friday.
"After going through so much I'm starting to question whether there's any meaning left in this, and how this movement can even go on," he told The WorldPost.
"But if we all just walk away then it will mean all that we've put into this for so long was a waste."
The protest movement in Hong Kong erupted after China ruled in August that candidates for the semi-autonomous territory's 2017 leadership election would have to be vetted by Beijing.
Charlotte Alfred contributed to this report from New York.
Policemen walk away from a scene where anti demonstrators confronted pro-democracy demonstrators in an occupied area of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman looks on as she stands by a placard in an occupied area of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
An anti-protester (C) argues with a student (R), part of a group protecting a barricade in an occupied area of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy demonstrators clean an occupied area of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy demonstrators look on as they protect a barricade from anti-protesters in an occupied area of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
A group of men shout at pro-democracy protesters after fighting running battles as a policeman looks on in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images)
A pro-democracy activist screams at local residents and pro-government supporters as they protect their protest site on October 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Local residents and pro-government supporters scream at pro-democracy protesters on October 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy activists are pushed through the crowd to safety after clashing with local residents and pro-government supporters on October 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy protesters try to stop a barricade at their demonstration area from being removed in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong on October 3, 2014. (Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy activists join together to protect their protest tent from local residents and pro-government supporters on October 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Police shield a pro-democracy activist who was beaten by local residents and pro-government supporters while trying to leave the protest site on October 3, 2014 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Pedestrians walk through the encampment of pro-democracy student protesters outside the government complex in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A police guards over a pro-democracy student protester who collapsed during scuffles with locals trying to remove the barricades blocking local streets in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A pro-democracy student protester tries to negotiate with angry locals trying to remove the barricades blocking streets in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A student protester is injured after being pulled off and hit by residents and pro-Beijing supporters while local police are escorting him out of the protest area in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok district, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A pro-government supporter tries to grab on to a student pro-democracy activist as policeman were escorting him out of the tent, in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok district, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Protesters sleep in a main road as they block the road at the financial district in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A pro-democracy protester is taken away by police officers as an ambulance tries to leave the compound of the chief executive office in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
A student pro-democracy protester covers his face in plastic wrap to guard against pepper spray in a standoff with police, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Wrapped in plastic to shield from pepper spray, a student protester stands behind a makeshift barrier blocking main streets in the central business district of Hong Kong, late Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Pro-democracy protesters gather in the early hours of the morning, while others spent the night on the streets around the government headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Student activists sleep on a road, many under the shade of umbrellas, near the government headquarters where pro-democracy activists have gathered and made camp, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Student activists sleep on a road near the government headquarters where pro-democracy activists have gathered and made camp, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Student activists sleep on a road near the government headquarters where pro-democracy activists have gathered and made camp, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A man is framed by a barricade made of metal gates and umbrellas in the central financial district, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
A student protester rests next to a defaced cut-out of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at one of their protest sites around the government headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Student activists sleep in the shade of umbrellas, on a road near the government headquarters where pro-democracy activists have gathered and made camp, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Pro-democracy protesters hold umbrellas under heavy rain in a main street near the government headquarters in Hong Kong late Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. (AP Photo)
A woman holds a placard at a large pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong on October 1, 2014. (Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images)
Pro-democracy demonstrators gather for the third night in Hong Kong on September 30, 2014.(PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
People gather during demonstrations in Hong Kong on September 30, 2014. (XAUME OLLEROS/AFP/Getty Images)
Student protesters chant pro democracy slogans on the streets on September 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Sit In Protest Continues In Hong Kong Despite Chief Executive's Calls To Withdraw
HONG KONG - SEPTEMBER 30: Student protesters shine lights as they chant pro-democracy slogans on the streets on September 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Thousands of pro democracy supporters continue to occupy the streets surrounding Hong Kong's Financial district. Protest leaders have set an October 1st deadline for their demands to be met and are calling for open elections and the resignation of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
Protesters relax on the streets outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on September 30, 2014 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
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