Hong Kong protests: safety first as malls cut back on Christmas installations for fear of attracting big crowds
- Safety fears sparked by ongoing anti-government protests and worsening violence prompts mall to scrap traditional large-scale installations
- Certain shopping centres run by developer Sun Hung Kai Properties have also dropped plans to install large decorations
A rare dullness has swept over the forecourt of the popular Harbour City mall in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district, with festive decorations few and far between even though Christmas is just weeks away.
In what was almost an annual ritual, come December every year the waterfront site would be packed with thousands of people, both locals and tourists, taking photos in front of sparkling decorations such as giant Christmas trees and jolly Santas that the mall had installed for the festive season.
Among the disappointed was Evil Lam Chung-yan, 37, who brought his five-year-old daughter to Harbour City for photographs for Christmas in previous years.
“Sentiment has been dampened,” said Lam, who works at a mahjong parlour. “I will have fewer places to take my daughter to.”