Here are a few of the many fun activities you cannot do in most public parks: all ball games, frisbee, street performances, live music, cycling, walking dogs, using radio-controlled toys, sitting on grass and roller skating.
The long list of banned activities put out by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department rather begs the question: what are public parks for? Well, you can walk in them, sit and talk quietly and maybe use the toilets when nature calls.
Now, educator David Biddlecombe has had enough. Fed up with the petty restrictions, he launched 'Freedom Ball' protests last year, but he will run the biggest of them all tomorrow, when he plans to unleash 1,000 inflatable balls for children to play with in Sha Tin Park.
'Freedom Ball takes the campaign to open up Hong Kong's parks and public spaces to the next level,' Biddlecombe said. 'We now have 1,000 balls at our disposal. We only had a few balls when we challenged the rules before.'
Biddlecombe started the protest-is-fun movement after becoming frustrated with the excessive regulation. 'From school textbooks to park signs, we're constantly telling children all the things they can't do in parks. We want to bring some positivity to public space.'
Let's join the fight and regain our rightful public spaces from those useless bureaucrats. Freedom Ball goes from 11.30am to 2.30pm.