Lai See | Beware of travellers carrying umbrellas on planes

Travellers from Beijing to Hong Kong over the weekend were puzzled when passing through security at Beijing Airport to be asked repeatedly if they were carrying umbrellas in their hand luggage.

Now we know that some airlines do not allow umbrellas on board unless they are of the folding type. But we have never heard of anyone being asked if they are carrying a folding umbrella in their hand luggage.

Could it be that Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement has hit a nerve within Beijing airport's security apparatus and anyone carrying an umbrella is to be viewed with suspicion as possibly subversive?

Unfortunately we were not able to discover what draconian measures were imposed on those discovered carrying umbrellas. Would they merely be confiscated or would discovery involve interrogation? Would a yellow umbrella carry a more severe penalty?

Not for nothing are umbrellas now referred to as WMDs: Weapons of Mass Democracy.