Security chief says public must wear numbered lanyards or special T-shirts to march in Hong Kong to prevent rallies from being ‘hijacked’

Secretary for Security Chris Tang says requiring residents to wear identifying items to demonstrate is no different from what expo organisers ask of attendees
Measures first introduced last Sunday are again adopted at public processions held around city this weekend

Hong Kong protests

Oscar Liu

Published: 9:12pm, 2 Apr 2023

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Hong Kong’s security minister has sought to justify controversial new rules imposed on residents taking part in rallies, including wearing numbered lanyards, as necessary to ensure public safety and prevent the events from being “hijacked” by malicious people.

In approving marches for this weekend, police told organisers that participants must clearly display the tags or wear clothing that identified them as belonging to the group and refrain from wearing masks that covered their faces, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung on Sunday said.

“Police took measures based on risk assessments to identify participants, control the number of people within a safe limit and prevent anyone from hijacking the events that could endanger social security,” he said.

“People who intend to endanger Hong Kong’s order must not be allowed to hijack public activities,” says Secretary for Security Chris Tang. Photo: Edmond So

Tang argued that requiring members of the public to wear a numbered lanyard to exercise their right to demonstrate was no different from what organisers of expos or trade shows asked of attendees to enter the premises.

“After what had happened in 2019, the current society seems calm, but some people still hope to stir up trouble and endanger public safety,” he said, referring to the anti-government protests that rocked the city that year.

“Hong Kong’s current peace is not easy to come by. People who intend to endanger Hong Kong’s order must not be allowed to hijack public activities.”

Police allow 13 weekend marches in Hong Kong but require badges, stickers for some

Marches and other types of public processions were regularly seen in the city until 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic erupted and authorities introduced social-distancing rules that included limiting the size of public gatherings. The national security law was imposed by Beijing in June that year, and rights activists and Western governments have said the legislation has been used to stifle views critical of the government.

No approved protests were held until last Sunday, when several dozen residents staged a march to protest against a reclamation plan in Tseung Kwan O. A condition of the approval was that residents wear lanyards around their necks.

Residents take part in a protest against a reclamation plan in Tseung Kwan O last Sunday. Photo: Elson Li

More than a dozen marches were authorised for this weekend. One involved about 300 Catholics walking around St John’s Cathedral in Central to mark Palm Sunday. While the faithful traditionally carry a palm branch when taking part in such events, police made it mandatory so officers could identify the participants. But some members of the procession decided to wear masks.

Hong Kong only last month dropped a rule that residents must wear masks while in public to protect against Covid-19, but many continue to wear them.

The Harbourfront Commission and Development Bureau also organised a “Celebration of Easter” march from East Coast Park Precinct in Fortress Hill, which required participants to wear hats and badges provided by organisers. Some residents taking part also chose to wear masks.

Police speak to residents at the “Celebration of Easter” march on Sunday. Photo: Dickson Lee

At another event, nearly 100 people gathered at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai before boarding an open-top double-decker bus that drove to Salisbury Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui, as a part of an event promoting the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, in September.

Participants wore identical T-shirts and stickers. Among them was Sharon Cheung, who said she was excited to watch the Games in Hangzhou and wanted to help generate local interest.

“It was supposed to be held in 2019, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. Joining the event sends a great message about Hangzhou and definitely tells a good story of China,” the 63-year-old retiree said.

People take part in the Hangzhou Residents Association’s celebration for the coming Asian Games. Photo: May Tse

She said the requirement that everyone in the group wear the same T-shirts was reasonable.

William Shum Wai-lam, vice-president of the Hangchow Residents Association that organised the event, said all of the police’s rules for holding the event were followed.

“We applied for the rally about three weeks ago and had a meeting with the police once every week. The communication was smooth and the requests were clear,” he said.

“We have extra staff here to distribute the event T-shirts and ensure everyone participating is mask off. But I never heard about a numbered tag arrangement during the meetings with the police.”

Tang denied the new measures were discriminatory or unfair to the public.

“The ways for identification vary from situation to situation. Some people in society deliberately stir up emotions and smear the government by describing the identification tag as a dog leash. Their behaviour aims at endangering national security and making law enforcement difficult,” he said.

The minister also criticised a cartoon by artist Zunzi about a police plan to adopt a HK$5.2 billion (US$662 million) information system in the coming year. Tang said the cartoon published in the Ming Pao Chinese-language daily newspaper on Saturday misrepresented what he told lawmakers about the system.

Hong Kong police slam cartoon showing riot squad at school to deal with unruly pupils

“I noticed Zunzi’s cartoon mentioned ‘the government is not actually using HK$5.2 billion but HK$20 billion. The rest of the money will be used to build prisons, hire related correctional personnel who will target you’. This is a purely misleading accusation,” Tang said.

“This is to mislead residents into thinking the government is using technology to monitor and target them. But the technology is only convenient for the authorities to carry out emergency rescue.”

Tang said Zunzi had used his cartoons to repeatedly make misleading claims about the government over the past six months.

“The government is willing to take criticism, but if the allegations are not based on facts, I have the responsibility to tell the truth and publicly condemn the misleading allegations because the public have the right to know,” he said.

The Post has reached out to Ming Pao for comment.