Demonstrators in central Hong Kong have been injured and taken to hospitals after police moved in to quell a pro-democracy protests.

Police have issued a statement saying 78 people were arrested.

The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has told CNN that at least 26 people were "injured and hospitalized".

Tens of thousands were in the streets yesterday to condemn the Beijing government's decision to vet who can run for chief executive of Hong Kong.

A main highway was blocked and a huge crowd gathered in front of the government offices.

The South China Morning Post reported that the co-organizer of the Occupy Central movement, Dr. Chan Kin-man, agreed that protesters should retreat at 11:15 p.m.

"It is a matter of life and death," Chan said. "We put people's safety as our top priority. Retreat doesn't mean giving up.. we will still continue to struggle."

But not everyone heeded the advice.

Early in the morning, police in riot gear encircled the crowd and fired tear gas.

In opposition to police violence, the Professional Teachers' Union has called upon its members to go on strike on Monday (September 28).

Meanwhile, Time magazine has reported that 70 Hong Kong tycoons were summoned to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping.

The richest and most famous of them all, Li Ka-shing, reportedly greeted Xi warmly with a "hearty double-handed handshake".

Fears escalated that Xi may be more authoritarian than his predecessor, Hu Jintao, after he revived Mao Zedong's practice of self-criticism last year. Xi has also visited Mao's lakeside villa and increased the number of arrests, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The crackdown in Hong Kong is being noticed on the island nation of Taiwan (Republic of China), which China has claimed is a long-lost province but which Taiwanese fiercely claim is an independent country.

Taiwan is a thriving democracy of 23 million people across the strait from China's Fujian Province.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, conceded that people in his country "are worried about the developments in Hong Kong".

He added he cannot accept the concept of "one country, two systems", which China has proposed.

"If the system is good, then we believe it should be 'one country, one system'," Ma said.