Hong Kong's GDP in the third quarter shrank 3.2 percent from the second quarter this year, and 2.9 percent compared with the same period in 2018, due to the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, according to the latest statistics from the government.

The shrinking indicates that Hong Kong's economy has been contracting for two consecutive quarters, which meets the technical definition of a recession. This is the first time that Hong Kong slid into recession after the global financial crisis of 2008.

Read more: Hong Kong's economy grew at the slowest pace in a decade, what's next for the city?