Thousands of people gathered Saturday for a rally in downtown Hong Kong, belting out songs, speeches and slogans to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2014 Umbrella protest movement that called for democratic reforms in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

Protesters used an electric saw to slice through the bottom of the lamppost, while others pulled ropes tied around it.

Traffic was restored in the heart of Hong Kong on Thursday following violent clashes the day before between police and protesters who oppose legislation that would allow criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.