Half of Hong Kong MTR stations still closed as city braces for more protests over government’s anti-mask law

Admiralty, Prince Edward and Mong Kok among major interchanges remaining shut as some rail services resume following Saturday’s closure of entire network
Demonstrations held in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon on Sunday, on second day of civil unrest since mask ban introduced

Hong Kong protests

Georgina LeeandChris Lau

Published: 12:16pm, 6 Oct 2019

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Hong Kong’s railway reopened on Sunday but dozens of stations remained shut as the city emerged from virtual lockdown, ahead of another wave of protests against the government’s anti-mask law.

The MTR Corporation has partially resumed services across 45 of its 94 stations while the rail operator continued to repair the widespread damage caused by rioting protesters, which led to the closure of the entire network on Saturday.

However, all train services would end at 9pm on Sunday to allow time for the works, with nearly 50 stations still shut “due to serious damage”, the MTR Corporation said.

Those still closed included the major interchanges of Admiralty, Prince Edward, Mong Kok and Tai Wai.

The operator said the decision to partially reopen the railway, the city’s primary mode of transport, was made after carrying out risk assessments with police and government departments.

Some shops have also reopened after shutting on Saturday, but there were still widespread closures. Protests were due to be held in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday afternoon.

“The MTR’s priority is in ensuring passengers’ safety, and has the responsibility to ensure the safety of the railway network’s infrastructure and facilities,” the MTR Corp said on Sunday morning.

Demonstrators angered by the government’s ban of wearing masks at public assemblies have taken to the streets. Photo: Felix Wong

“The decision to [partly] resume service comes only after [our assessment that] we could safely serve passengers across these stations.”

The statement added stations could close without warning.

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Ma On Shan line and Disneyland Resort line were the only lines still suspended, with the others running partial services.

Starting at 1pm on Sunday, services on the Airport Express line will only stop at Hong Kong station and the airport, with Kowloon, Tsing Yi and AsiaWorld-Expo left out.

The return of services came after the sustained campaign of vandalism by hard-core elements of the anti-government movement against the city’s rail operator escalated on Friday night, with turnstiles destroyed, MTR staff assaulted, station offices smashed or flooded and the lighting of fires at exits.

The latest violence was triggered by the Hong Kong government’s decision to impose an anti-mask law that took effect at midnight on Friday.

The controversial restriction bars anyone from wearing “facial coverings” during demonstrations, regardless of the assembly’s legal status, that are “likely to prevent identification”.

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As well as the MTR’s first full day of service suspension in its 40-year history, several major malls and grocery chains were also closed on Saturday, as parts of Hong Kong usually bustling with people were eerily quiet on the first day of the long weekend that ends with the Chung Yeung Festival public holiday on Monday.

On Sunday, some malls and shops reopened. Among them were supermarket chains ParknShop and Wellcome, and convenience store chain 7-Eleven.

But others shopping centres remained closed on Sunday. Those included the IFC in Central, Popcorn in Tseung Kwan O, Telford Plaza in Kowloon Bay and Maritime Square in Tsing Yi. Sogo department store in Causeway Bay also remain closed.

A man surnamed Cheng, who is in his 70s, bought three bags of rice weighing a total of 15kg, as well as a trolley’s worth of frozen dim sum and canned food, when he stocked up at ParknShop supermarket in Tsuen Wan on Sunday.

Fearing more closures, he said: “I’m greatly inconvenienced. I don’t know when supermarkets will close, so I have to go shopping early.”

Meanwhile, the Transport Department said 86 sets of traffic lights had been damaged or tampered with in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Tseung Kwan O, and Yau Tsim Mong districts.

The department said all bus services were back to normal on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said 10 per cent of the 3,300 ATM across the city could not function due to vandalism over the weekend, as of Saturday.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club said 47 out of 102 branches of its betting shops were closed while the rest would shut earlier at 6pm on Sunday.

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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor imposed the ban in the hope it would quell several months of anti-government protests, which were sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill and have descended into regular outbreaks of violence.

On Sunday morning, a High Court judge was set to hear an urgent application from 24 pro-democracy lawmakers for a temporary suspension of the mask ban.

They argue the government’s use of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to enact a ban with criminal implications had disproportionately infringed on citizens’ rights and bypassed the city legislature, making it unconstitutional.

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A dozen pan-democratic lawmakers were expected to attend the hearing.

The camp’s convenor Claudia Mo Man-ching called it “the very last constitutional fight on our part in the name of law”.

Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, who represents the legal industry in the Legislative Council, said the court challenge was about “authoritarianism versus the rule of law”.

Additional reporting by Fiona Sun

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