Mat Booth

Hong Kong malls were the target of "Christmas shopping" protests on Sunday.  After more than 6 months of demonstrations, the city had seen a relatively calm period, but on this day riot police once again entered shopping malls after businesses were vandalized. Multiple arrests were made and there was a heavy police presence on the streets. Rallies from both sides of the divide took place near each other in the early afternoon. Thousands attended a pro-police rally and hundreds of social workers called for their colleagues to go on strike in support of the protest movement.

Hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers took to the streets on December 8, 2019, the day before the six-month anniversary of the anti-government protests. For the first time since August, the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of the march, received a letter of no objection from the police.