Protests in Hong Kong as top China official visits

Hong Kong protesters angry at a visit by a top Beijing official shouted pro-democracy slogans Wednesday but were kept well away from a mission seen as an attempt to bridge the city's growing political divide. The three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China's communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official for four years. It comes as concerns grow that freedoms are under threat in semi-autonomous Hong Kong as Beijing tightens its grip.