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Late Sunday, a normally bustling commercial district was fogged over in tear gas as police with shields and gas masks fought to contain thousands of protesters, many clad in black and wearing yellow hard hats.

The day before, similar clashes unfolded in an outlying district of Hong Kong where a week earlier a group of thugs with sticks and rods beat up subway passengers, some of whom were returning from a mass march that day.

The sustained clashes at opposite ends of the territory marked the first time since protests began in June that such intense confrontations took place on back-to-back days. Adding to a sense of disorder, the demonstrations gained momentum even as police resorted to more aggressive tactics to tamp them down. That included making more arrests, deploying more tear gas, charging with riot sticks and firing nonlethal projectiles into crowds now adept at erecting barricades from dismantled fencing. Hong Kong police announced early Monday that they had made at least 49 arrests Sunday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong demonstrators, previously known for civility, are now experimenting with more dangerous tactics like setting small fires in occupied roadways.

“For Hong Kong this is very serious, among the worst we have seen,” said Kin-ming Liu, a longtime Hong Kong journalist and opinion writer. “It looks very bad and I honestly don’t know how it will play out.”

Compounding the apprehension gripping this city is the widespread perception that its Beijing-backed leadership is unable to provide a political resolution to the unrest, which began two months ago in opposition to a planned law that would make it easier for Beijing to extradite Hong Kong residents for trial in mainland China.

With hundreds of thousands of marchers on the streets in June, the city’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam put the controversial extradition law on hold. But demonstrators, who want it scrapped entirely, were unsatisfied with what they saw as a half measure.

In the weeks since, the intensity of the protests has grown, adding to calls for Mrs. Lam to resign. Mrs. Lam has called for an end to violence and has said she has no plans to step down.

The embattled leader, who hadn’t been seen in public since last Monday, attended the graduation ceremony of the Military Summer Camp for Hong Kong Youth on Sunday, according to a government press release.

“Young people are the driving force of the development of Hong Kong,” Mrs. Lam said in the speech, while thanking the Hong Kong garrison of China’s People’s Liberation Army for its support of the camp.

The Chinese central government’s office responsible for Hong Kong and Macau said it would hold a news conference Monday to address the protests, which have stretched into their eighth weekend.

Foreign companies appear to be suffering. In a survey published Monday in Asia, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong found that more international businesses are feeling pessimistic about short-term prospects for the city. Respondents said increased violence and political brinkmanship fueled the perception that Hong Kong is a riskier place to do business. The survey, which polled sectors in financial services, logistics and technology, found disrupted supply chains and consumption have caused short-term revenue hits for some companies.

The protesters’ rallying cries have become broader—including chants for a freer Hong Kong after Beijing chipped away at the rights and freedoms cherished by local citizens, making potential resolution more elusive. The city’s government has in the past few years outlawed a political party that advocated independence, ousted legislators, and prosecuted opposition activists.

Ray Chan, who is 28 years old, said the local government’s inability to find a resolution spurred him to take to the streets on Sunday night in Hong Kong. “We’re out here trying to force the action,” he said. CONTINUE AT SITE