By Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin
Anti-government office workers attend a lunch time protest in Hong Kong on Friday after local media reported an expected ban on face masks under emergency law.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday invoked rarely used emergency powers to ban face masks at demonstrations, a move that her government believes will quell months-long and increasingly violent protests in the city — but which have already had the opposite effect of intensifying anger on city streets.
The decision risks prolonging the unrest that has rocked the city and will effectively expand police powers of arrest amid widespread fear that the department is operating with impunity.
It could also risk tainting Hong Kong’s hard-fought reputation as an open financial hub, already under strain over the upheaval of recent months.
“Protesters’ violence has been escalating and has reached a very alarming level in the past few days, causing numerous injuries and leading Hong Kong to a chaotic and panicked situation,” Lam said in a news conference.
Behind her, a banner read: “Treasure Hong Kong, End Violence.”
“As a responsible government, we have the duty to use all available means to stop the escalating violence and restore calm in society,” she said.
Lam added that while the emergency ordinance is being enacted to ban the masks, Hong Kong itself is not in a state of emergency.
But, she added, Hong Kong is in “an occasion of serious danger,” one of the prerequisites for invoking these emergency laws.
The ban will take effect from Saturday.
It will apply to rallies that have been given a go-ahead by police, as well as those that are unauthorized.
The law authorizes a police officer to order the removal of facial coverings, and take it off forcefully if the person does not comply.
Noncompliance would be punishable by a fine or a jail term of up to a year.
Separately on Friday, the Education Bureau sent a letter to schools telling them to warn students not to wear masks inside or outside school, other than for religious or health purposes.
“Schools are not a place to express your political views,” the letter said.
Students have been a major force in the recent protests, forming a huge chunk of the over 2,000 arrested in street demonstrations.
They have also organized class boycotts and other shows of solidarity inside the classroom.
Critics were quick to reject the measure and the use of emergency laws.
And even authorities seemed to be acknowledging that their move would not stop unrest: some government workers were dismissed early Friday and schools were told to cancel extracurricular activities in anticipation of protests.
A call has gone out for demonstrations in 18 districts on Friday evening local time.
“This is adding fuel to fire. People are already extremely angry at the police and the government for not responding to their demands,” said Fernando Cheung, a pro-democracy lawmaker.
“The result is clear, this will mark the beginning of riots in Hong Kong.”
Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, added: “Hong Kong authorities should be working to create a political environment in which protesters do not feel the need for masks — not banning the masks, and deepening restrictions on freedom of expression.”
Lam’s announcement came days after widespread demonstrations across Hong Kong on Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, that descended into street battles between protesters and police.
Police fired at protesters multiple times, using live ammunition for the first time since the demonstrations first erupted in June.
One protester was shot by an officer at close range in the chest after a group of protesters attacked police.
The incident sparked even more demonstrations this week.
The 18-year-old student, who remains in hospital, was charged Thursday with rioting and assaulting a police officer.
Police have said the shooting was justified.
Protests began over a bill to allow extraditions to mainland China that many feared would erode the city’s freedoms and the independence of its reputable legal system.
They have since swelled into an all-out rebuke of Hong Kong’s political system, in which leaders are handpicked by and answerable to Beijing.
Demonstrators are pushing five demands, including an independent investigation of the police, but the government has responded only to one, the full withdrawal of the extradition bill.
The mask ban was pushed by a more hardcore group of Beijing loyalists within Lam’s government, who have accused her of being too soft on the unrest roiling the city.
On Friday, as Lam was meeting with her cabinet to discuss the ban, several thousand demonstrators began marching through central Hong Kong, the city’s financial district — indicative of the depth of dissent in the territory.
Spontaneous protests like these have become a daily occurrence since Oct. 1, and residents have emerged from even middle-class neighborhoods in the evening to heckle police.
The crowd spilled out onto a major thoroughfare, and marched down a four-lane road shouting chants like: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong!” and “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times!”.
A number of participants were office workers in suits and heels.
The march brought traffic to a halt, but some drivers stuck in the jam held five fingers — a symbol of the five demands of protesters — outside the windows of their luxury sedans, beeping their horns in a show of support.
Penny, 35, who said he had worked in finance for 10 years, challenged police to use force against workers like him marching in the city center.
“If the police dare to shoot us in Central during mid day, come on and do it, don’t be a coward,” he said, using only his first name for fear of retribution.
“If Carrie Lam wants a police state, that is fine, we are not afraid.”
Others expressed fears that Lam’s move was only the beginning of what would be an increasingly repressive crackdown on dissent.
Lam has said repeatedly that a solution to the political crisis can be reached through dialogue.
She held a community listening session last month, but the move has failed to win her any support.
“This is only the first step, in the coming weeks and months [the government] will continue to use more force to push protesters not to voice any opposition,” said Justin, 27, a corporate finance worker who only provided his first name.
He wore a respirator, yellow construction helmet and goggles with tailored dress pants and slim-fitting shirt and skinny gray tie as he marched.
The emergency powers, which date back to 1922 when Hong Kong was under British colonial rule, allows authorities to censor the press, seize property, take control of all transportation, manufacturing and trade in the city and allow for lengthy detentions of those arrested.
Already, activists are planning challenges in court to the new law.
Yet, some legal experts believe the powers are not in line with Hong Kong’s Basic Law, which grants the city its cherished freedoms, including the right to assembly.
Eric Cheung, a principal lecturer at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, said the use of the emergency ordinance to enact the law was alarming.
“It sets a very bad and dangerous precedent in bypassing all of the normal legislative processes. It means you can now pass a law without any consultation, without any debate, without any public participation or voting by the Legislative Council,” he said.
He added that the move is “very, very damaging to Hong Kong” and “changes the whole legal landscape.”
Lam did not rule out enacting other regulations to curb protests, including putting a curfew into place.
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