Hong Kong leader bans masks in hardening stance on protests
Thousands of defiant masked protesters streamed into Hong Kong streets Friday after the city’s embattled leader invoked rarely used emergency powers to ban masks at rallies in a hardening of the government’s stance after four months of anti-government demonstrations.
Lam stressed it doesn’t mean the semiautonomous Chinese territory is in a state of emergency. She said she would go to the legislature later to get legal backing for the rule. The ban makes the wearing of full or partial face coverings, including face paint, at public gatherings punishable by one year in jail. A six-month jail term could be imposed on people who refuse a police officer’s order to remove a face-covering for identification.Masks will be permitted for “legitimate need,” when their wearers can prove that they need them for work, health or religious reasons.
Thousands of masked protesters began marching in the city’s business district and other areas before Lam spoke. The rally grew in the evening as protesters vowed they wouldn’t be intimidated. Some used metal railings to block roads downtown, vandalized two subway stations and set street fires, including burning a Chinese flag.
Many also are concerned their identities could be shared with the massive state security apparatus that helps keep the Communist Party in power across the border in mainland China, where high-tech surveillance, including facial recognition technology, is ubiquitous. The ban followed widespread violence in the city Tuesday that marred China’s National Day and included a police officer shooting a protester, the first victim of gunfire since the protests started in June over a now-shelved extradition bill. The wounded teenager was charged with attacking police and rioting.
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