Student protest leaders including the teenage face of the pro-democracy movement, Joshua Wong, turned themselves in to police on Friday as Hong Kong authorities target prominent figures who spearheaded mass rallies.

Police have vowed to investigate the "principal instigators" of protests for fully free leadership elections that lasted for more than two months and brought parts of the city to a standstill before rally camps were cleared in December.

Hong Kong's leader used a major policy speech Wednesday to single out a little-known student magazine for criticism after it advocated independence from China, sparking fury from its editor as fears grow over press freedom.

In an unusual move, Leung Chun-ying blasted "Undergrad" magazine of Hong Kong university in the high-profile speech to the city's legislature, dismissing as "fallacies" its claim that "Hong Kong should find a way to self-reliance and self-determination."

Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying warned Wednesday that demands for fully free elections risked "anarchy" as he pledged allegiance to Beijing and pro-democracy lawmakers staged a dramatic walk-out.

Leung took a hard line on political reform in his annual address, saying there would be no deviation from Beijing's framework for the city's leadership elections in 2017.

A pro-democracy group on Monday announced plans for the first major street rally in Hong Kong since more than two months of mass protests ended, with organizers expecting 50,000 to turn out.

Tension remains high in the former British colony after rallies for free leadership elections blocked some of the city's major thoroughfares, ending in December when protest camps were cleared.

The teenage face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, 18-year-old Joshua Wong, slammed the authorities Thursday in a court appearance linked to mass protests which brought parts of the city to a standstill for months.

Wong was one of 29 activists at the High Court for a preliminary hearing on possible criminal contempt charges for blocking the police clearance of one of the main protest camps in November.

Hong Kong Wednesday announced new proposals for how the city should choose its next leader but made clear that candidates would still be screened -- the key issue behind more than two months of mass protests.

More than 20 lawmakers carrying yellow umbrellas -- the symbol of the pro-democracy movement -- walked out of the legislative chamber as the consultation document was about to be presented by government number two Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong's leader Tuesday warned against fresh democracy protests ahead of the next step in the city's contentious political reform process, saying the authorities would not bow to "coercive action".

The government will Wednesday launch a second round of public consultation on the process for electing the city's next chief executive.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday heaped praise on Hong Kong's authorities as he met with the city's leader, commending them for maintaining "stability" in 2014, a year marked by massive pro-democracy street protests.

Beijing refused to give concessions to demonstrators who held rallies in Hong Kong for more than two months demanding free leadership elections for the semi-autonomous city, and police cleared the last of their sprawling protest camps on December 15.

Hong Kong police said Thursday they had arrested a dozen pro-democracy protesters after a night of clashes in the first sizeable rally since the last protest camp was cleared last week.

Police used pepper spray and batons to disperse hundreds of protesters who crowded the pavements Christmas Eve and at times rushed into traffic on major roads in Mongkok district.

Around 100 pro-democracy demonstrators took to Hong Kong's streets on Wednesday to mark Christmas Eve, the first sizable rally since the last of the protest camps which blocked main roads was cleared last week.

Protesters, holding meters-long banners that read "We want true universal suffrage", walked to the city's government headquarters to signal that the democracy movement was far from over.