LettersHong Kong protests: Carrie Lam’s face mask ban has only added fuel to the fire

Now that police can arrest any protester wearing a face mask, the number of confrontations, and therefore violence, will only increase

Chief Executive Carrie Lam must make clear to Beijing the need for an independent commission of inquiry and threaten to resign if her advice is not heeded

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A woman holds a mask with slogans written on it as protesters gather outside Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong on October 5, a day after the anti-mask law came into effect. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:25am, 8 Oct 2019Updated: 7:25am, 8 Oct 2019

It did not take a genius to foresee that the government’s face mask ban would be ineffective and counterproductive. Nevertheless, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, despite previously expressing concerns that such a move “would backfire on an already chaotic society”, decided to invoke the Emergency Regulations Ordinance and introduce the ban. The aftermath of her announcement, with protesters coming out in droves and grinding the entire city to a halt, shows that the move has indeed backfired.

The rationale for introducing the ban is straightforward, yet nonetheless fatally flawed. Given the escalating violence that has threatened public safety, the ban is meant to serve two purposes. First, the ban is intended to deter protesters, who have used face masks to hide their identities. Without their face masks, protesters are in greater danger of being identified and arrested.

Second, the ban aims to strengthen the police’s ability to enforce the law and quell the protests. The police now have the authority to arrest any protester wearing a mask.

However, it should be abundantly clear by now that protesters have gone far beyond worrying that they may be arrested. Anger towards the government and police has reached boiling point, and protesters are convinced that this is a life-or-death battle for their freedoms. The mere threat of arrest will not stand in their way.

Besides, strengthening the police’s ability to arrest protesters only increases confrontations. Violence directed at police officers has increased in recent weeks and this ban further jeopardises their safety.

If Lam is serious about de-escalating tensions and ending violence, she must take bolder action. She should make it clear to Beijing that an independent commission to investigate police officers is the only chance of peacefully quelling the protest. She should threaten to resign if Beijing rejects her advice.