‘I wanted to test the rule of law’: first-time anti-government protester enters the fray – unmasked and motivated

A 25-year-old accountant joins tens of thousands who defied police order and took to the streets
Some got around ban on religious grounds – others said they were just out shopping

Hong Kong protests

Jeffie Lam,Mimi LauandNectar Gan

Published: 10:32pm, 31 Aug 2019

Why you can trust SCMP

Joy had never joined a protest – despite growing up in Hong Kong, a city now known for just that.

But that changed on Saturday.

She wore no surgical mask or balaclava. She entered the fray for the first time entirely unguarded, and knowing full well that the march had been outlawed by police.

“If merely walking on the street will get you arrested for illegal assembly, then this is white terror,” said the 25-year-old accountant, using the phrase “white terror” to refer to what she saw as the suppression of political dissent.

Her motivation to take to the streets was as much about personal knowledge as protest.

“I just want to test the rule of law in Hong Kong,” she told the Post as she walked from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai.

The march had been organised by the Civil Human Rights Front to mark the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s stringent “831 Decision” on Hong Kong’s democratic reforms – but the police did not allow it out of security concerns.

A man dressed as Moses holds the ‘Five Commandments’, referring to protesters’ demands during a gathering at Southorn Playground on Saturday. Photo: AFP

It was the first time the police had objected to a rally and march planned by the front since the anti-government crisis erupted in June.

Joy was having none of it. She was one of tens of thousands of protesters who defied the police order and expressed their demands to the government. Some Hongkongers got around the ban by saying they had joined a religious gathering. Others said they were going shopping.

Tommy Yuen Man-on, a singer and outspoken supporter of the movement, held what he called a mobile concert that attracted a huge crowd in Causeway Bay.

Joy was hardly the only unmasked protester intent on testing the freedoms in their hometown.

“Why should I mask up? Is it a crime for a retiree to take a stroll on the weekend?” said 63-year-old Peter Lam. “I don’t think I would be considered a criminal for such an act, at least not in the Hong Kong that I recognise.”

Lam said he joined the protest because the government on Friday arrested several pro-democracy figure, including Joshua Wong Chi-fung, and three lawmakers for their roles in the movement.

A 19-year old student brought a tennis racket to the march on Saturday, hoping to swat back any tear gas canisters fired by police. Photo: Jeffie Lam

“I think the situation in Hong Kong has undergone a total shift after the big arrests,” Lam said. “This is my fifth time coming out since June, but this time feels so different for me. If I don’t come out today, I probably won’t have the chance to do it again.”

Covy Wong, a 43-year old nurse, called the arrests on Friday “insane”.

“The government wants to frighten us into not coming out. But only by defying them and staying united can we carry on,” said Wong, who had joined most of the major protests so far.

A 19-year old student, who only gave his surname Kwong, said that neither the protest ban nor the high-profile arrests would scare off determined Hongkongers.

He brought a tennis racket, hoping to return tear gas canisters back at police with his forehand. Kwong faces university entrance exams next year – but on Saturday he was focused on sending a message.

“Police can arrest as many high-profile activists or lawmakers as they want,” he said. “But there is no single leader – so they will never crush the movement.

Additional reporting by Karen Zhang and Kelly Ho

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: The protesters determined not to wear a mask

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