HONG KONG (AP) — Masked pro-democracy protesters marched Friday in central Hong Kong ahead of an expected ban on wearing facemasks in a hardening of the government’s stance to the territory’s most disruptive crisis since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam will hold a news conference at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT), her office said without giving details. Local media reported Lam planned to bypass the legislature to announce the mask ban under emergency powers to quash four months of anti-government demonstrations.
Thousands of people, all wearing masks, chanted slogans calling for greater democracy as they marched in the city’s business district. They chanted “I want to wear face masks” and “Wearing mask is not a crime” as many cars, stuck in traffic due to the march, honked in support.
“Will they arrest 100,000 people on the street? The government is trying to intimidate us but at this moment, I don’t think the people will be scared,” one protester, who gave his surname as Lui, told an online live broadcast.
Analysts warned the use of the Emergency Ordinance for the first time in over half a decade set a dangerous precedent. The law, a relic of British rule enacted in 1922 to quell a seamens strike and last used to crush riots in 1967, gives broad powers to the city’s chief executive to implement regulations in an emergency.
“Even though the mask ban is just a small move under the Emergency Ordinance, it is a dangerous first step. If the anti-mask legislation proves to be ineffective, it could lead the way to more draconian measures such as a curfew and other infringement of civil liberties,” said Willy Lam, adjunct professor at the Chinese University.
The planned ban follows 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.
The movement has since snowballed into an anti-China campaign amid anger over what many view as Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong’s autonomy. More than 1,750 people have been detained so far.
Activists and many legislators have warned the facemask ban could be counter-productive, impractical and difficult to enforce in a city bubbling with anger and where tens of thousands have often defied police bans on rallies to take to the street.
