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Will this have any practical effect on the protests? Haven't the authorities already declared that protesters are engaged in illegal activity, so what's one mo
by CharlesColeman 7y ago
Will this have any practical effect on the protests? Haven't the authorities already declared that protesters are engaged in illegal activity, so what's one more act of civil disobedience?
Also, aren't the "masks" worn by many of the protesters the kind of thing that's often worn in Asia for hygiene and pollution reasons, so this would ban even innocent behavior?
- hkai 7y agoThe thing is, the ban will stay in force long after the protests are over, so that participants of peaceful assemblies can be fired from their jobs or banned from China (if they're foreigners).
- samlevine 7y agoMake everything illegal and selectively enforce against people the state doesn't like is a viable strategy for an authoritarian government. This might be a problem for the HK government, but I'm not sure rule of law is as big of a selling point to global capital as it used to be.
- orthoxerox 7y agoThat's how anti-loitering laws work, for example.
- president 7y agoIt's another tactic to justify increased force against protestors. The more "rules" that the protestors are breaking, the more the police/PLA will be empowered to assault them.
- HappySweeney 7y agoThey've started wearing Guy Fawkes masks, which I presume is the reason for the diktat.
- smmdjdmd 7y agoWhat isn’t talked about is that the pro China people want revenge. They are seen taking photos of journalists and protestors so they can ensure those people have a hard time once the protest dies down. The anti mask law ensures they catch everyone. Most pro China people says it’s so that these protestors face justice, but their hatred for protesters is only just under the surface. You can literally tell they want to ruin these people’s lives permanently.