Hong Kong "Occupy" protesters scuffled Tuesday with bailiffs who began evicting them from their camp outside the Asian headquarters of HSBC, the last outpost of the anti-capitalist movement in Asia.
Police-backed bailiffs exercised a court order to clear around a dozen protesters along with their tents and banners denouncing capitalism from the ground floor of the bank, which has been occupied since October last year.
"Leave! Leave this place," one angry protester shouted as the security officers pushed and shoved their way in shortly before noon, while others -- who were beating drums and blowing whistles -- chanted "Occupy Central".
"This area belongs to the people," another protester said.
One HSBC security guard was injured and taken to hospital, footage from local broadcaster Cable TV showed.
A Hong Kong court last month approved an application from HSBC to evict the group, ruling that the protesters could not provide sufficient reason to continue to live on the property, which sits in the middle of some of the most expensive real estate in the world.
The camp sprouted up in solidarity with the much larger Occupy movement which began in New York's Zuccotti Park last year and spread around the world.
The movement has largely petered out since police forcibly dismantled the New York tent city in November.
Only a handful sleep at the Hong Kong camp overnight, and during the day there are rarely more than 10, according to witnesses and bank officials.
HSBC and police did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the eviction.
The protesters have said they would not leave voluntarily and vowed to stay at the site "till our death", according to their Facebook page.
The eviction attracted onlookers, including the bank's employees, with some saying the protesters should respect the court order.
"They have crossed the line," retiree Chan Shu-chuen, 56, said as he snapped pictures of the eviction.
Hong Kong, the Asian financial hub of seven million people is known for its super-rich tycoons, low taxes and teeming shopping districts.
But it is also a case study in economic inequality, with thousands of low-income residents forced to live in "cage" accommodation because of the skyrocketing cost of housing fuelled by wealthy property speculators.
Official figures released in June showed the wealth gap in the city, already one of the world's widest, was worsening.
Currently the wealth gap in Hong Kong is around the same as Thailand and ranks among the highest in Asia, worse than mainland China, Singapore and Vietnam.
