HONG KONG — Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes between police and protesters since Christmas. We hope Hong Kong people will come onto the streets for Hong Kong’s future,” said Jimmy Sham, a leader of the group. While there is no official count of deaths during the protests, student Chow Tsz-lok died after a high fall during a pro-democracy rally in November. On Sunday more than 1,000 people rallied in the rain in Hong Kong’s financial district, chanting slogans for democracy as they huddled under a sea of umbrellas. The protests have battered Hong Kong’s economy, already reeling from the fallout of the U.S.-Sino trade war and slowing economic growth in the mainland.

Source: National Post December 30, 2019 05:15 UTC