Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said it was too early to say if the ban on facial masks has been effective, in a press conference on Oct. 8, as protests in the embattled city show no signs of slowing down.
“It is too early to say that the anti-mask is not effective,” Lam said, before adding, “It would take time for it to be effectively implemented.”
She called on Hongkongers to “observe the law.”
After invoking the emergency ordinance, Lam implemented an anti-mask law, which would see anyone found guilty of covering up their face in an unlawful assembly or public gathering of more than 50 people potentially face one year in prison. The law went into effect at midnight on Oct. 4.
Lam added that she currently did not have any plan to put in place further measures using the emergency law, although “if the situations become so bad, then no option could be ruled out.”
Over the past weekend, tens of thousands of protesters, many defying the mask ban, took to the streets to voice their anger against the anti-mask law while reiterating their calls for the government to fulfil demands for greater democracy, including universal suffrage.
During the press conference, Lam told a reporter that she has not ruled out calling on Beijing for assistance, though she and her team were committed to “restore order and calm” through Hong Kong’s “legal and political instruments,” as well as through her dialogue sessions out in the community.
There have long been speculations that Beijing would deploy its armed forces to quash the Hong Kong protests. The Chinese Communist Party has forces stationed at the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison located in Central and in the nearby mainland city of Shenzhen.
Lam reiterated her rationale behind invoking the anti-mask law, saying that it has a “deterrence effect” on people, particularly for youngsters to stay away from “political” and “violent activities.”
Beijing and Lam’s government have repeatedly labeled Hong Kong’s protesters as “rioters,” while voicing support for the Hong Kong police, who have fired tear gas, bean bag rounds, and rubber bullets, at times indiscriminately, to disperse protesters. International rights organizations have criticized the police for their excessively violent actions.
Exemptions Unclear as Law Faces Court Challenge
When asked by a reporter about an incident over the weekend when police forcibly removed journalists’ facial masks, Lam said that her government would continue to study how to strike a balance between law enforcement and safeguarding the rights of certain professions exempt from the law.Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security John Lee, speaking at a press conference on Oct. 4 to introduce the anti-mask law, had said that reporters were exempt from the anti-mask law.
Lam acknowledged that the anti-mask law was facing challenges in the local court during the press conference, but said the law was “valid” for the time being.
When asked about a comment by Hong Kong’s last governor, Chris Patten, who stated that Lam must be “crazy” to implement the anti-mask law, Lam called on foreign governments and foreign politicians to look at what’s happening in Hong Kong “objectively” and not make any “irresponsible comments.”
Patten added: “I fear for the future, unless Carrie Lam actually intervenes and understands the importance of dialogue.”
Lam said she did not meet with any Chinese central government officials on her recent trip to Beijing on communist China’s National Day when asked if she met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Among these defendants, 14 are also charged with violating the anti-mask law. They were all arrested in Wan Chai on Oct. 6.
