Protests erupt at shopping malls across Hong Kong with leader Carrie Lam in Beijing

A small group of protestors gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong as their Chief Executive Carrie Lam is away on a visit to Beijing. The protests across different malls in Hong Kong took place on December 15 amid brief scuffles with riot police. A group of masked protestors gathered around different shopping malls chanting slogans including "Fight for freedom" and "Return justice to us". Reportedly, riot police used pepper spray on protestors to disperse them. 

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HK leader Carrie Lam to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam will meet the Chinese premier Xi Jinping on Monday to discuss the situation in the semi-autonomous region of China. Experts believe that a possible cabinet reshuffle may also be tabled in the meeting. Carrie Lam, however, had played down the news of cabinet reshuffle and said that her priority is to curb violent protests and restore order in Hong Kong. 

Read: Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam Visits Beijing To Discuss City's Unrest

In the evening, several hundred protestors gathered to hold vigil for a protester named Leung Ling-kit, known as "raincoat man", who fell to his death exactly six months ago. The suicide of Leung Ling-kit sparked the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Leung is also the first person to die since the so-called revolution started in June this year. 

Read: New Chinese Video Game Lets Players Punch Hong Kong Protesters

Hong Kong is gripped by protests since June this year. The protests are led by pro-democracy groups in the semi-autonomous region of China. The protests started after China decided to bring a bill that would allow the Communist country to extradite prisoners from the region which was not allowed until then. China had to withdraw the controversial Fugitive Offenders Amendment Bill following violent protests by a group of students and other professionals. A new data released by the Airport Authority of Hong Kong has recorded a fall in passenger numbers by over 16.2% compared to a year earlier.

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