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| Hong Kong leader to ban face masks as she activates colonial-era powers | Hong Kong leader to ban face masks as she activates colonial-era powers |
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| Hong Kong’s leader plans to use harsh colonial-era emergency powers for the first time, banning face masks in a bid to curb the city’s protests. | Hong Kong’s leader plans to use harsh colonial-era emergency powers for the first time, banning face masks in a bid to curb the city’s protests. |
| Opposition politicians warned it represented a slide towards authoritarianism and risked further inflaming tensions. | Opposition politicians warned it represented a slide towards authoritarianism and risked further inflaming tensions. |
| Adding to concerns about a hardline government approach, a leaked memo showed police had relaxed their guidelines on using lethal force the day before a teenage student was shot in the chest, the first live-ammunition injury since protests began in June. | Adding to concerns about a hardline government approach, a leaked memo showed police had relaxed their guidelines on using lethal force the day before a teenage student was shot in the chest, the first live-ammunition injury since protests began in June. |
| Police have insisted the officer acted lawfully, and the 18-year-old student, who is still being treated in hospital, was charged with rioting and assaulting a police officer. | Police have insisted the officer acted lawfully, and the 18-year-old student, who is still being treated in hospital, was charged with rioting and assaulting a police officer. |
| Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, was expected to announce details of the face mask ban on Friday, local media reported, in response to chaotic violence across the city on China’s national day, 1 October. | Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, was expected to announce details of the face mask ban on Friday, local media reported, in response to chaotic violence across the city on China’s national day, 1 October. |
| Hong Kong protests: journalist blinded in one eye as attacks on media escalate | Hong Kong protests: journalist blinded in one eye as attacks on media escalate |
| Lam was at a gala in Beijing celebrating 70 years of communist rule while pitched battles were fought in the streets of her city between police and protesters, but since her return she has been under heavy pressure from pro-China groups to use the sweeping powers bequeathed by the British. | Lam was at a gala in Beijing celebrating 70 years of communist rule while pitched battles were fought in the streets of her city between police and protesters, but since her return she has been under heavy pressure from pro-China groups to use the sweeping powers bequeathed by the British. |
| The emergency regulations ordinance was introduced in 1922 so colonial authorities could break up strikes paralysing the ports. It allows the government to make any regulations it considers in the public interest, if it decides the city faces “an occasion of emergency or public danger”. | The emergency regulations ordinance was introduced in 1922 so colonial authorities could break up strikes paralysing the ports. It allows the government to make any regulations it considers in the public interest, if it decides the city faces “an occasion of emergency or public danger”. |
| Measures imposed could include censorship, control or suppression of the media, arrests, detentions, deportations, and seizure of property. The legislature can only amend or repeal any law passed under the emergency regulations once it has already been implemented. | Measures imposed could include censorship, control or suppression of the media, arrests, detentions, deportations, and seizure of property. The legislature can only amend or repeal any law passed under the emergency regulations once it has already been implemented. |
| The regulations are considered so extreme that they have not been used for over half a century, and never deployed since the 1997 handover to Chinese sovereignty. | The regulations are considered so extreme that they have not been used for over half a century, and never deployed since the 1997 handover to Chinese sovereignty. |
| “The emergency regulations are the start of a slip towards an authoritarian state,” a lawmaker, Dennis Kwok, said at a news conference, adding that he did not expect any form of government crackdown to end the protest movement. | “The emergency regulations are the start of a slip towards an authoritarian state,” a lawmaker, Dennis Kwok, said at a news conference, adding that he did not expect any form of government crackdown to end the protest movement. |
| “The yearning for freedom, democracy and liberty are not going to go away just because you bring in more draconian regulations,” he said. | “The yearning for freedom, democracy and liberty are not going to go away just because you bring in more draconian regulations,” he said. |
| A ban on masks would appear to be a limited use of emergency powers, but government critics say they believe it could serve as a way to test public and legal reaction, and pave the way for more extensive controls. | A ban on masks would appear to be a limited use of emergency powers, but government critics say they believe it could serve as a way to test public and legal reaction, and pave the way for more extensive controls. |
| “It will be tempting [for the government] to expand its use to other areas, such as cancelling the district council elections scheduled for November and declaring a curfew,” said Kenneth Chan, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and former lawmaker. | “It will be tempting [for the government] to expand its use to other areas, such as cancelling the district council elections scheduled for November and declaring a curfew,” said Kenneth Chan, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and former lawmaker. |
| A new Hong Kong extradition law is proposed, which would allow people to be transferred to mainland China for a variety of crimes. Residents fear it could lead to politically motivated extraditions into China's much harsher judicial system. | A new Hong Kong extradition law is proposed, which would allow people to be transferred to mainland China for a variety of crimes. Residents fear it could lead to politically motivated extraditions into China's much harsher judicial system. |
| Large public demonstrations start as thousands march in the streets to protest against the extradition bill. | Large public demonstrations start as thousands march in the streets to protest against the extradition bill. |
| Hong Kong lawmakers scuffle in parliament during a row over the law. | Hong Kong lawmakers scuffle in parliament during a row over the law. |
| Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, introduces concessions to the extradition bill, including limiting the scope of extraditable offences, but critics say they are not enough. | Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, introduces concessions to the extradition bill, including limiting the scope of extraditable offences, but critics say they are not enough. |
| The scale of protests continues to increase as more than half a million people take to the streets. Police use rubber bullets and teargas against the biggest protests Hong Kong has seen for decades. | The scale of protests continues to increase as more than half a million people take to the streets. Police use rubber bullets and teargas against the biggest protests Hong Kong has seen for decades. |
| Lam says the proposed extradition law has been postponed indefinitely. | Lam says the proposed extradition law has been postponed indefinitely. |
| The protests continue as demonstrators storm the Legislative Council, destroying pictures, daubing graffiti on the walls and flying the old flag of Hong Kong emblazoned with the British union flag. The protests coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK back to China. | The protests continue as demonstrators storm the Legislative Council, destroying pictures, daubing graffiti on the walls and flying the old flag of Hong Kong emblazoned with the British union flag. The protests coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK back to China. |
| Armed men in white T-shirts thought to be supporting the Chinese government attack passengers and passers-by in Yuen Long metro station, while nearby police take no action. | Armed men in white T-shirts thought to be supporting the Chinese government attack passengers and passers-by in Yuen Long metro station, while nearby police take no action. |
| 44 protesters are charged with rioting, which further antagonises the anti-extradition bill movement. | 44 protesters are charged with rioting, which further antagonises the anti-extradition bill movement. |
| By now the protest movement has coalesced around five key demands: complete withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, withdrawal of the use of the word "riot" in relation to the protests, unconditional release of arrested protesters and charges against them dropped, an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of genuine universal suffrage. | By now the protest movement has coalesced around five key demands: complete withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill, withdrawal of the use of the word "riot" in relation to the protests, unconditional release of arrested protesters and charges against them dropped, an independent inquiry into police behaviour and the implementation of genuine universal suffrage. |
| The mass protests enter their fifteenth week, with police resorting to teargas and water cannon against the demonstrators, and a wave of "doxxing" using digital techniques to unmask police and protesters as a new front in the battle. | The mass protests enter their fifteenth week, with police resorting to teargas and water cannon against the demonstrators, and a wave of "doxxing" using digital techniques to unmask police and protesters as a new front in the battle. |
| Police shoot a protester with live ammunition for the first time, as demonstrations continue on the day marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the People's Republic of China. | Police shoot a protester with live ammunition for the first time, as demonstrations continue on the day marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the People's Republic of China. |
| The first charges are brought against protesters for covering their faces, after authorities bring in new laws banning face masks in order to make it easier to identify or detain protesters. | The first charges are brought against protesters for covering their faces, after authorities bring in new laws banning face masks in order to make it easier to identify or detain protesters. |
| Hong Kong officials spark outrage in the city as it revealed that nearly a third of protesters arrested since June have been children. Seven hundred and 50 out of the 2,379 people arrested were under 18, and 104 were under 16. | Hong Kong officials spark outrage in the city as it revealed that nearly a third of protesters arrested since June have been children. Seven hundred and 50 out of the 2,379 people arrested were under 18, and 104 were under 16. |
| Lam is forced to deliver a key annual policy speech via video link after after being heckled in parliament, as the legislative council resumed sessions after it was suspended on 12 June. Later in the day one of the protest leaders, Jimmy Sham, was attacked by assailants wielding hammers and knives. | Lam is forced to deliver a key annual policy speech via video link after after being heckled in parliament, as the legislative council resumed sessions after it was suspended on 12 June. Later in the day one of the protest leaders, Jimmy Sham, was attacked by assailants wielding hammers and knives. |
| Chan Tong-kai, the murder suspect whose case prompted the original extradition bill is released from prison, saying that he is willing to surrender himself to Taiwan. The extradition bill is also formally withdrawn, a key demand of protesters. | Chan Tong-kai, the murder suspect whose case prompted the original extradition bill is released from prison, saying that he is willing to surrender himself to Taiwan. The extradition bill is also formally withdrawn, a key demand of protesters. |
| Chow Tsz-lok, 22, becomes the first direct fatality of the protests. Chow, a computer science student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was found injured in a car park in Tseung Kwan O in Kowloon, where he was believed to have fallen one storey. Protesters had been trying to disrupt a police officer’s wedding, which was being held in the area. A week later a 70-year-old cleaner who is thought to have been hit by a brick during a clash between protesters and pro-Beijing residents becomes the second person to die. | |
| Hundreds of protestors are trapped as police lay siege to a university, firing tear gas. | Hundreds of protestors are trapped as police lay siege to a university, firing tear gas. |
| Local elections deliver a landslide victory for pro-democracy campaigners. | Local elections deliver a landslide victory for pro-democracy campaigners. |
| The government’s legal position has changed enormously, however, since the powers were last used in 1967, to quell riots linked to the Cultural Revolution. | The government’s legal position has changed enormously, however, since the powers were last used in 1967, to quell riots linked to the Cultural Revolution. |
| Hong Kong today has its own mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which protects human rights and which some experts believe trumps even the emergency regulations. | Hong Kong today has its own mini-constitution, the Basic Law, which protects human rights and which some experts believe trumps even the emergency regulations. |
| “In my view it is incorrect to view the ordinance as a blanket power for the government,” said Stuart Hargreaves, an associate professor in the law faculty at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “There is nothing in it that overrides the requirement that all other laws comply with the Basic Law.” | “In my view it is incorrect to view the ordinance as a blanket power for the government,” said Stuart Hargreaves, an associate professor in the law faculty at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “There is nothing in it that overrides the requirement that all other laws comply with the Basic Law.” |
| Because an anti-mask law would affect freedom of assembly guaranteed under the Basic Law, if someone challenged it a court could ask the government for a legal defence of its position, he said. | Because an anti-mask law would affect freedom of assembly guaranteed under the Basic Law, if someone challenged it a court could ask the government for a legal defence of its position, he said. |
| “This does not mean the government cannot introduce an anti-mask law; it means that the emergency regulations ordinance is not a trump card over constitutional rights.” Hong Kong courts had been receptive to limits on freedom of expression in the past but any ban would need to be tested, he added. | “This does not mean the government cannot introduce an anti-mask law; it means that the emergency regulations ordinance is not a trump card over constitutional rights.” Hong Kong courts had been receptive to limits on freedom of expression in the past but any ban would need to be tested, he added. |
| The ban aims to strike at morale and protester numbers by persuading people to stay away from gatherings for fear they will be identified. Face coverings have become a common uniform for those scared of arrest now or longer-term retaliation from Hong Kong or Chinese authorities. | The ban aims to strike at morale and protester numbers by persuading people to stay away from gatherings for fear they will be identified. Face coverings have become a common uniform for those scared of arrest now or longer-term retaliation from Hong Kong or Chinese authorities. |
| But it is unclear how it would work in practice. Crowds have turned out in their thousands for demonstrations denied police permits – even though they are technically illegal. | But it is unclear how it would work in practice. Crowds have turned out in their thousands for demonstrations denied police permits – even though they are technically illegal. |
| It is also unclear whether the ban would only apply at protests or be applied more widely. Wearing face masks for health reasons is common in Hong Kong. | It is also unclear whether the ban would only apply at protests or be applied more widely. Wearing face masks for health reasons is common in Hong Kong. |
| Activists said they expected mass displays of civil disobedience, and if large numbers still marched with face masks police would not have the capacity to arrest them all or space to hold them. However, officers might try to make an example of some individuals as a deterrent. | Activists said they expected mass displays of civil disobedience, and if large numbers still marched with face masks police would not have the capacity to arrest them all or space to hold them. However, officers might try to make an example of some individuals as a deterrent. |
| The fact that most police are masked – and would likely be exempt from any ban – is likely to add to frustrations. | The fact that most police are masked – and would likely be exempt from any ban – is likely to add to frustrations. |
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