HK's Lam cautions of 'economic tsunami'

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Friday that the government will step up a series of measures to support society as the city braces for a possible "economic tsunami".

To speed up the move, the Executive Council - the de facto cabinet of Hong Kong's chief executive, originally scheduled to be resumed on Aug 27 - will resume instead on Tuesday, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced.

The city is feeling the pinch from more than two months of anti-extradition bill protests along with the escalating China-United States trade dispute, and the resulting possible economic crisis could be a situation worse than the 2003 SARS epidemic or the 2008 global financial meltdown.