Hong Kong went to the polls Sunday for the first time since huge pro-democracy protests gripped the city, in a key test of public sentiment.

The spotlight is on the district elections to gauge whether support for the democracy movement can translate into votes and bring change to the political landscape.

Activists from Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement will be vying for seats at key local elections this weekend -- the first real test of public sentiment after mass protests gripped the city last year.

Dubbed "Umbrella soldiers" by local media, the campaigners have set their sights on the district-level polls, the first elections since the pro-democracy rallies brought parts of the city to a standstill for more than two months.

Yellow umbrellas and makeshift tents were back in central Hong Kong Monday as protesters gathered a year to the day since huge pro-democracy rallies brought parts of the city to a standstill.

Hong Kong pro-democracy student leader Joshua Wong pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of inciting unlawful assembly over protests last year that triggered more than two months of paralyzing street rallies in the city.

Wong, the teenage face of the "Umbrella Movement", was charged along with fellow student leaders Nathan Law and Alex Chow last week, almost a year after the protest, in a move activists described as a "political prosecution."

Two men were jailed for 19 years Friday for a brutal knife attack on a Hong Kong journalist in what the judge called a "cold-blooded" crime that intensified fears over press freedom in the city.

Kevin Lau, former editor of the investigative Ming Pao newspaper, was stabbed in broad daylight in February last year.

Hong Kong warned its residents on Tuesday to avoid travel to Bangkok while other governments in Asia advised citizens to be extra vigilant, after a bombing in the Thai capital killed at least 20 people.

Beijing, meanwhile, condemned the attack and called on Thailand to investigate the bombing and "punish the assailants severely".

With the defeat this week of the Beijing-backed political reform plan they slammed as "fake democracy", Hong Kong's young protesters are questioning how to take their fight forward as the gulf between them and mainland China widens.

The proposal would have allowed residents to vote for Hong Kong's chief executive for the first time -- currently the leader is chosen by a pro-Beijing election committee.

Hong Kong lawmakers on Thursday rejected a Beijing-backed electoral reform package derided as "fake democracy" during mass protests last year, leaving the city in deadlock over how its leader should be chosen.

The government's electoral roadmap would have given all residents the right to vote for the chief executive for the first time in 2017, but only able to choose from candidates vetted by a Beijing loyalist committee.

Hong Kong lawmakers urged calm Tuesday after police arrested 10 people on suspicion of making explosives in a plot they say is linked to a "radical" group, ahead of a vote on a controversial political reform package.

The allegations have been met with skepticism from security experts and commentators in the southern Chinese city, who questioned its timing ahead of the vote, expected Friday. 

Hong Kong police said Monday they had arrested nine members of a "local syndicate" involved in making explosives and said at least one claimed to be a member of a radical group.

Police would not name the group or specify motives but said that maps of central districts of Hong Kong had been found and warned anyone taking part in public gatherings to stay away from "violent protesters".