Mask ban means Hong Kong police could start removing Halloween make-up, with anti-government protest heading for Lan Kwai Fong

Halloween party-goers could be forced to wipe off their face paint if they look suspicious, police sources have said, while undercover officers will blend into crowds to watch out for anything untoward during Thursday night’s planned protests against the government’s mask ban.

Anti-government activists called for a march from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to Lan Kwai Fong in Central – where the large Halloween party is an annual fixture – and for participants to wear masks featuring the faces of government officials.

A senior police source said officers would be stationed on the outskirts of the city’s nightlife district to stop and search anyone suspicious, and would ask them to remove all face coverings to check their identity.

“We will be more alert if a person is wearing a big bag, in which weapons or explosive items such as petrol bombs could be stored,” the senior officer said. “We need to see their clear face to verify their identity. They need to remove the masks when that is demanded. If their face is full of paint, we will clean their make-up off.”

He added that the force understood party-goers could “put a scar or wound” on their faces during Halloween, and that officers would only wipe off paint if their face “was completely covered” and making identification difficult.

It was understood that undercover officers would head to Lan Kwai Fong to watch out for anything suspicious.