At approximately 2100 local time (1300 UTC) on 24 December 2019, police officers in Hong Kong fired tear gas at anti-government protesters gathered along Nathan Road outside the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district. Earlier in the evening, protesters clashed with officers at the nearby Harbour City Mall. Clashes broke out inside the mall after demonstrators targeted suspected plainclothes officers, which led to the deployment of riot police officers to the mall. Separately, in Mong Kok, police officers used pepper spray against protesters in the Langham Place Mall before leaving the area. An unknown number of protesters were arrested.
Additional protests are scheduled to take place on 25 December at shopping malls throughout the territory in an attempt to disrupt operations at businesses perceived to be pro-government; demonstrations are also set to occur at various locations in Causeway Bay, Central, Mong Kok, Sha Tin, Tsim Sha Tsui East and Wan Chai.
