As for cultural exchange, Chan said that the Hong Kong Ballet toured four Canadian cities with the classic Sleeping Beauty last year in March, while the Young Academy Cantonese Opera Troupe of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts staged a Cantonese opera performance of Monkey King in Toronto in September.

European nations, Israel’s largest trading partners and a historical bastion of support, are taking stronger measures to support Palestinian sovereignty and condemn what many see as aggressive, expansionist Israeli policies.