The official mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party on Monday slammed pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong as "driving democracy backwards", while state media continued to emphasise disruption caused by the protests.

The People's Daily renewed its criticism in three separate articles on the movement, primarily led by students and the Occupy Central group, which in recent days has seen tens of thousands of protesters bring parts of the global financial hub to a standstill.

"It is also a basic principle of democracy that a small minority not be permitted to violate public space and the public interest through illegal means," a commentator for the paper wrote.

"From this perspective, the recent 'Occupy Central' movement in Hong Kong is completely counter to democratic principles, and is driving democracy backwards," it added.

The articles, carried on the paper's fourth page, were less prominent than the paper's previous denunciations of the demonstrations, as protester numbers dwindled on the streets.

China has repeatedly branded the demonstrations illegal, but Hong Kong's government offered the talks last week in a bid to end an impasse.

By Monday morning, numbers had fallen dramatically at the city's main protest sites, although many said they would return later in the day to resume their campaign for free elections.

The protesters are demanding the right to nominate who can run for election as the former British colony's next leader in 2017. China's Communist authorities insist that only pre-approved candidates will be able to run, which activists dismiss as "fake democracy".

State broadcaster China Central Television, which for much of last week imposed a near-blackout on coverage of the protests, devoted more than 10 minutes to Hong Kong in a Monday morning broadcast.

It showed government employees going back to work as well as interviews with several residents opposed to the protests and a local tour agency operator decrying the impact the demonstrations have had on his business.

But images of the protests themselves as well as international broadcasts of the demonstrations continued to be blacked out by China's censors.