Hard hats, face masks and goggles: the essential wear for Hong Kong extradition bill protesters that is back in fashion five years after Occupy movement
- Demonstrators splash out on protective equipment again in boon for the city’s hardware shops
- The safety gear is often handed out for free at impromptu stands at demonstrations
Helmets, goggles and masks have re-emerged as essential equipment for those taking part in protests against the suspended extradition bill, with some items selling out after violent clashes returned to Hong Kong’s political centre this month.
On June 12, tens of thousands of protesters surrounded the government’s legislature in Admiralty to block the passage of the controversial legal changes, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no extradition deal.
As tensions escalated, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds to disperse protesters amid clashes that injured at least 80 and led to more than 30 arrests.
In Causeway Bay, Sum Chuen Construction’s boss Lam Loi-chun said his entire stock of about 60 helmets, selling at HK$50 each (US$6.40), were snapped up on June 12, along with hundreds of masks.
Lam, 58, said the shop’s daily revenue on days of heightened tensions had reached more than HK$20,000 this month – about double what he would normally take.