Masked Hong Kong marchers protest Lam’s expected mask ban

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.

Local media reported Chief Executive Carrie 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.

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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.

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.

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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.