Carrie Lam announces new bill banning face masks to further aggravate Hong Kong protestors
The Mass Transit Railway, a major public transport network, operated by the MTR Corporation Limited in Hong Kong came to a complete standstill today, i.e., Saturday, October 5, 2019 after a traumatic night of widespread violence across Hong Kong over the new bill which bans wearing face mask at public rallies.
Owing to continued protests of 4 months over the now abandoned Extradition Bill, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong – Carrie Lam has banned the face masks at public rallies.
By invoking the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance, she bypassed the territory’s independent legislature to put the ban into effect. Anyone who violates the ban will face 1 year of imprisonment and a penalty of $ 3,200. The ban is subject to vetting by the legislature when it reconvenes in less than 2 weeks.
Announcing the ban, she said, “As a responsible Government, we have a duty to use all available means. The decision to invoke the ordinance a difficult, but also necessary, one for public interest.”
She also added, “The protesters are becoming more defiant every week, and the police have now been now given new powers to arrest more people.”
The people of Hong Kong who were already aggravated with Carrie Lam for attending the 70th National Day celebrations of People’s Republic of China in Beijing, expressed their anger by increasing the intensity of ongoing protests. The police had to resort to firing tear gas to control the crowd.
During the protests, a lot of civil casualties have also been reported. According to the Hospital Authority, a statutory body managing all the Government hospitals and institutes in Hong Kong, as of 9:30 a.m. local time Saturday, 31 people were admitted to different hospitals, due to increased violence in Hong Kong. Of these, 15 people are stable and 14 have been discharged now. The stable patients also include a 14 years old boy who survived a gunshot wound in his leg and is being treated at Tuen Mun Hospital.
Besides, the major shopping centres such as Sogo in Causeway Bay, Cityplaza in Tai Koo, Elements in West Kowloon and Yoho Mall in Yuen Long have been closed. The supermarket chains such as ‘Park n Shop’ and leading pharmacy chain ‘Watsons’ have also announced to remain closed. The standalone shops and banks have also been closed owing to increased disruption in Hong Kong.
The MTR Corporation has announced at 3:45 a.m. today morning that all the railway lines will remain closed. The people of Hong Kong have accused MTR Corporation of colluding with Police to stop the rail services.
A message on the MTR Corporation’s website read, “After the outbreak of violence at multiple districts, maintenance staff have to make sure of their own safety before they can travel to the damaged stations to inspect and assess the extent of damages at our stations, and to carry out repair work.”
Turning violent, the protestors destroyed the turnstiles, smashed the advertisement billboards and daubed graffiti on the walls and ticket machines at MTR Stations of Kwun Tong, Sha Tin and Sha Tin Wai. The Sai Wan Ho Station was completely with anti-China slogans painted on the wall. A security camera outside the station exit was also broken. A train at Sha Tin station was seen with its rooftop on fire.
The crowd also destroyed the Eastern District Council board outside the and wrote slogan which read, “blood will have blood.” A branch of Bank of China, located at Castle Peak Road in Tsuen Wan, was also attacked.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, its currency board and de facto Central Bank, has asked its customers to use online banking or ATM services. It has also said that all sorts of violence will be condemned.
A statement said, “Any form of vandalism and violence should be condemned. We hope that social order will be restored soon, allowing banks to resume normal operations and serve businesses and members of the public.”
Speaking on the recent developments, the Spokeswoman for United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Human Rights – Marta Hurtado, said in a briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, “Any restriction must have a basis in law and be proportionate and as least intrusive as possible. Freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental right and should be enjoyed without restriction to the greatest extent possible.”
She also said that the use of firearms is the last resort and can only be used against an immediate threat.
