Hong Kong democracy activists on Tuesday marked one month of mass protests as student leaders said they would consider asking senior Chinese Communist party officials to meet them directly, the first time such a request has been made.

Thousands gathered for an evening rally at the main protest camp, unfurling umbrellas to mark the moment a month ago when police fired tear gas at largely peaceful crowds -- kick-starting the most concerted challenge to Beijing since the bloody 1989 Tiananmen protests.

Leaders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests on Sunday abruptly postponed a vote on their next steps due to differing opinions about how to move the month-long campaign forward.

Four weeks after tens of thousands of Hong Kongers took to the streets demanding free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous Chinese city, weary demonstrators remain encamped across several major roads.

Hong Kong's democracy activists are planning a street vote to gauge protesters' views on conciliatory offers from the government, as the city's former leader on Friday called on them to clear the streets.

The leaders of the mass demonstrations that have paralysed parts of the city for nearly a month said they will poll demonstrators at the main protest camp opposite government headquarters on Sunday evening. 

A United Nations rights watchdog on Thursday pressed Hong Kong to enact democratic reforms, saying moves so far fell short of what was needed.

Amid weeks of mass pro-democracy protests and roadblocks in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, the U.N. Human Rights Committee said Hong Kong authorities had failed to properly heed its calls for change.

A band of Hong Kong art guardians are on constant standby at the city's sprawling protest site. Their mission: to swoop in and save a vast array of creative works -- including the towering "Umbrella Man" statue -- if the police move in.

Over nearly a month of protests calling for greater democracy in the southern Chinese city, a kilometer-long stretch of highway opposite the government headquarters usually choked with traffic has been transformed into a riotous open air exhibition.

Hong Kong civil servants have taken to Facebook to anonymously voice support for ongoing democracy protests on a public page that points to unease among some of those working at the heart of the city's government.

Bureaucrats from a myriad of departments -- including the government's own information service, the police and the judiciary -- have been posting pictures of their official ID cards with their names redacted alongside slogans critical of their Beijing-backed paymasters.

Hong Kong student leaders said Wednesday they may shun further talks with the government, accusing it of failing to make any meaningful offers to end weeks of mass pro-democracy protests and roadblocks.

The comments are a blow to the city's Beijing-backed leaders who had expressed hopes for fresh rounds of talks after meeting students on Tuesday night for the first time.

Hong Kong's government held its first talks Tuesday with pro-democracy protest leaders after three weeks of mass rallies and roadblocks which have posed a challenge to Beijing, and said it hopes for more discussions.

The embattled leader of the semi-autonomous Chinese city extended a potential olive branch to protesters hours before the talks began, saying he was open to creating a more democratic committee to help choose his successor.

Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders Monday angrily rejected claims by the city's chief executive that "external forces" are orchestrating their mass rallies, ahead of talks intended to end three weeks of political stalemate.

The denials came as the United States -- the implicit target of previous foreign meddling allegations by Beijing -- also denied any involvement in stirring up tensions in the financial hub.

Pro-democracy activists Sunday accused police of using excessive force against protesters after violent clashes in Hong Kong, as a senior politician said weeks of rallies have reached a "critical moment".

Dozens of police with shields and helmets pushed into a crowd of demonstrators gathered at barricades in the Mongkok district early Sunday, striking at them repeatedly with batons.