What happens if Hong Kong court upholds mask ban amid coronavirus pandemic?
- Legal scholars and government await ruling, with observers mixed on how judgment would affect a city now writhing under a different crisis
- Authorities invoked colonial-era law to tackle violent protests last year, but legislation was ruled unconstitutional by a court, prompting an appeal
Hong Kong’s embattled government will know on Thursday the outcome of its appeal to uphold a controversial ban on masks, which was introduced at the height of the civil unrest last year but later ruled unconstitutional by the court.
Legal experts, however, have called for a full withdrawal of the law, invoked under colonial-era legislation in October, regardless of the appeal outcome, amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling, set for 3.30pm, underscores what critics see as the awkward position authorities have found themselves in: masks, once part of the signature outfits worn by black-clad protesters and deemed a “public danger” by officials, are now ubiquitous, worn by most as protective gear against infection.
Senior Counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a member of the government’s top advisory body the Executive Council, has said that even if the appeal court ruled in favour of the mask ban, it would not clash with any attempt to legislate mask-wearing.
He said the law stipulated that people could raise the defence of health purposes to justify wearing masks, though other legal experts feared it might cause confusion.
