Hong Kong protests: pro-government lawmakers renew calls for anti-mask legislation in bid to end violence

DAB legislator says overseas studies show that people are more likely to take violent action when they are masked

What were peaceful mass demonstrations sparked by now-shelved extradition bill have escalated into violent clashes with police

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DAB members call for anti-mask legislation during a rally outside government headquarters. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 8:01pm, 29 Aug 2019Updated: 7:22am, 30 Aug 2019

Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing lawmakers have renewed their calls for the government to introduce an anti-mask law, saying it will help end violent protests in the city.

But their rivals in the pan-democratic camp objected to the idea. They said such legislation would add fuel to the fire, and the best way to end violence was for officials to respond to public demands for measures such as an independent inquiry into police’s use of force on demonstrators.

Mass protests were triggered in June by the now-shelved extradition bill, and what began as peaceful marches have escalated into violent clashes with police, with masked protesters hurling petrol bombs at officers, who responded with rubber bullets and beanbag rounds.

A police officer fired one warning shot into the air as protesters chased and attacked him and several colleagues with metal pipes during anti-government demonstrations in Tsuen Wan on Sunday.

An anti-mask law will help cool the situation, pro-government lawmakers say. Photo: Reuters

Lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), believed that enacting an anti-mask law would help cool the situation.