Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, invoked colonial-era emergency powers, allowing her to pass a law without going through regular legislative proceedings, to ban face masks. Chief Executive Lam states that the measure makes it easy to identify protesters resorting to violence. While employing emergency powers is something Hong Kong has been considering for weeks, Lam claims that authorities were convinced to act based on this past week’s events turning increasingly violent, with escalating clashes, including a police officer shooting an 18 year old student.
The ban is set to take effect at midnight on October 4th 2019, and violations of the ban are punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of more than $3,000. Face masks are commonly used by Hong Kongese for security and safety, and the decision has spurred further concerns about encroachments on civil liberties. The decision could further hurt Hong Kong’s reputation, as the international community fears that once emergency measures are invoked, there is nothing preventing further measures from being added.
