Hong Kong police make first arrests under new anti-mask law as at least 13 anti-government protesters are taken into custody
- Senior force insider says two men were picked up in Tai Po for refusing to remove their masks
- Almost all of those arrested were also suspected of engaging in unlawful assembly
At least 13 Hong Kong protesters have been arrested for concealing their faces at public assemblies since the anti-mask law came into force at midnight on Friday.
The arrests came as the city’s embattled police force courted controversy for entering Chinese University’s campus, allegedly without the school’s consent, in the early hours of Sunday and searching five students who were putting up protest-related posters.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor earlier invoked the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance to enact a ban on masks at all rallies – regardless of whether the events were lawful or unauthorised – in a bid to curb the social unrest which is approaching its fifth month.
But the ban has only intensified the outrage and sparked three straight days of protests and vandalism.
A senior police insider confirmed at least 13 protesters had been arrested on Saturday for violating the new law, and most were also arrested for engaging in an unlawful assembly.
The Post was told the first arrest was made at around 10pm in Tai Po where two men, suspected of taking part in an unauthorised assembly, refused to remove their masks when asked to do so.
“Officers warned them about the new law and told them to remove their masks,” the insider said.
According to internal police guidelines obtained by the Post, officers are advised to warn a suspect about the new anti-mask law if the situation allows, and that he or she could be subject to arrest if they fail to remove the item covering their face.
Breaking the anti-mask law can lead to a maximum fine of HK$25,000 (US$3,188), and one year in prison.
Meanwhile, the university’s student union, and the student union of CUHK’s Chung Chi College, strongly condemned police for entering the school campus at around 2pm on Sunday without notifying – and obtaining the consent of – school management beforehand.
According to the student groups, around 40 riot police entered the campus after complaints of vandalism at University MTR station, and subsequently took away five students – who were putting up posters at the time – near the campus entrance to the MTR station to be searched.
Officers also reportedly shone strong lights at students, and urged them to retreat by pointing pepper spray at them.
The CUHK student union argued it was unreasonable for officers to enter the school in the absence of a search warrant, as the campus was supposed to be a private space, and expressed regret towards the school’s security division which it said failed to protect students.
“We urge the school to lodge a formal complaint to the force and sternly warn the police not to enter Chinese University again without the school’s permission in order to prevent similar incident from happening again,” the statement read.
CUHK expressed concern and urged police to contact university management first before entering the campus, whenever practicable.
Police said officers were responding to calls for help.
“At about 1.45am [on Sunday], a staff member of [the MTR] called police and reported that several turnstile machines at University MTR station were damaged. Officers were there to conduct investigations and collect evidence in the vicinity. Officers of the Ma On Shan division are investigating. No one was arrested,” they said.
Keith Fong Chung-yin, president of Baptist University student union, posted a message on his Facebook page that police had also entered the campus there and “assaulted” students.
He questioned why security guards did not stop them.
In an email to students later in the day, Dr Andy Lee Shiu-chuen, Baptist University vice-president (administration) and secretary, confirmed that officers had entered the campus area at about 4pm when they were chasing a protester.
“According to the information obtained so far, police did not make any arrest on the campus,” he said.
“And police had made arrests in the public areas near the Communication and Visual Arts Building. According to the information the university had obtained, there were five students of our university getting arrested in the operation,” he said.
Lee promised the university would offer legal help to the students and stressed that police did not have power to enter the campus unless they had warrants or other legitimate reasons.
In July, Professor Zhang Xiang, the University of Hong Kong’s president, promised he would not let police enter HKU’s campus and arrest students if they did not produce warrants.
