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Hong Kong Announces Face Mask Ban In Protests
Posted
October 4, 2019
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934
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October 4, 2019
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1:41:13Now PlayingHong Kong invoked colonial-era emergency powers for the first time in more than half a century to ban face masks for protesters in a bid to quell months of violent unrest.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the measure on Friday during a press briefing with 16 members of her cabinet, citing a rise in violence by protesters in recent weeks. The prohibition on face masks will have a “deterrent effect” to stop violence at protests and help police enforce the law, she told reporters, adding that the measure didn’t mean Hong Kong was under a state of emergency.
“The violence is destroying Hong Kong,” Lam said. “We must save the present Hong Kong and the future Hong Kong.”
“As a responsible government we have duty to use all available means to stop the escalating violence and restore calmness in society,” she added. “We believe the new law will crate a deterrent effect against masked, violent protesters and rioters and will assist the police.”
Violators of the ban, which will include exemptions, could get a jail term of as much as one year or a fine of HK$25,000 ($3,190), according to a copy of the document handed to reporters. People will have a reasonable excuse to use facial coverings if required for physical safety at work, for religious purposes, or for a pre-existing medical or health reason, Lam said.
The face mask has become a symbol of resistance among protesters who fear retribution if they are identified: China has already applied pressure to businesses such as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. to fire employees who have participated in demonstrations. The move to invoke colonial-era emergency powers -- last used more than 50 years ago -- comes shortly after a protester was shot in violent demonstrations that once again shook the city on Oct. 1, as President Xi Jinping celebrated 70 years of Communist party rule in Beijing.
First passed by the British government in 1922 to quell a seamen’s strike in Hong Kong’s harbor, the emergency law was last used by the colonial administration to help put down riots that rocked the trading hub in 1967. Denounced by protest leaders as a form of martial law, it could give the government greater leeway to arrest citizens, censor publications, shut off communications networks and search premises without warrants, among other measures.
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