Hong Kong protests turn violent following announcement of mask ban under emergency powers

Associated Press

A protesters uses a cut paper bag as a mask in a march in Hong Kong, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. A group of pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators filed a legal challenge against the government's use of a colonial-era emergency law to criminalize the wearing of masks at rallies to quell anti-government demonstrations, which diminished in intensity but didn't stop. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

• Protests in Hong Kong again turned violent Sunday, with police using rubber bullets and tear gas, and protestors throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks.
• The unrest came following the announcement from Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam that she had activated emergency powers to create a mask ban.
• Masks have frequently been used in the pro-democracy protests to protect the identities of demonstrators who fear government persecution.
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Shouting "Wearing mask is not a crime," thousands of protesters are braved the rain to march in central Hong Kong as a court rejected a second legal attempt to block a mask ban at pro-democracy rallies.

The ban took force Saturday after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced that the government had used emergency powers under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to activate a mask ban - the first time in over 50 years that the ordinance has been activated which gives Lam extreme executive power.

Lam said the mask ban was needed to stop the violence.

Protestors have frequently worn masks to conceal their identity for fear of government persecution.

Lawmaker Dennis Kwok says the High Court on Sunday refused to grant an injunction on the mask ban, but it will hear later this month an application by 24 legislators against Hong Long leader Carrie Lam's use of emergency powers to impose the measure by circumventing the legislature.

Demonstrators became violent Sunday amid news of the ban and after a teen protester was shot Friday night in the thigh after an off-duty police officer fired his pistol in self-defense.

In response to rubber bullets and pepper spray from police, protesters reportedly threw bricks and molotov cocktails, according to The Guardian.

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