Published 17:11 IST, November 7th 2019
Masked Hong Kong students chant protest slogans at graduation
Masked Hong Kong students chant protest slogans at graduation on Thursday in defiance of mask ban demanding to meet the protesters' demand for free Hong Kong.
- World News
- 3 min read
With banners reading "Free Hong Kong, Revolution Now", students in Hong Kong were seen wearing black masks, chanting slogans at their graduation at the Chinese University on November 7. The Hong Kong government imposed a ban on masks which were defied by the students as they put it on their faces over black graduation gowns in a bid to curb sometimes violent unrest that has rocked the Chinese-ruled city for more than five months. There were about 1,000 students who walked till the ceremony venue, near the New Territories town of Sha Tin, calling for the government to respond to protesters' demands.
Protesters donned cartoon masks to defy mask ban
In October, pro-democracy protesters donned cartoon character masks and formed human chains across the semiautonomous Chinese city in defiance of a government ban on face coverings. Many protest supporters masqueraded as Winnie the Pooh or Guy Fawkes, gathering along the city’s subway lines. Winnie the Pooh masks were used because of an earlier joke that Xi Jinping resembled the talking bear. The joke led China’s censors to scrub all online references to the character. Fawkes masks are common in anti-government protests around the world.
Court appeal to lift mask ban was denied
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam banned protesters from wearing masks on October 4. The mask ban was imposed under a colonial-era Emergency Ordinance and applies to unauthorised public gatherings and police-approved protests. A group of pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators earlier filed a legal challenge on October 5 against the government’s use of a colonial-era emergency law to criminalise the wearing of face masks. Two activists failed to obtain a court injunction as the government says have made it tough for police to identify radical protesters. Lawmaker Dennis Kwok said a group of 24 legislators filed a legal appeal to block the anti-mask law on wider constitutional grounds.
About Hong Kong Protests
The Hong Kong protesters are against the idea of ‘one country, one system’ which will restrict them from enjoying extensive freedom, not permitted in mainland China. Hong Kong will also lose its freedom to have an independent judiciary and the right to protest. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned other nations from interfering, considering it a matter ‘internal affair’. Chinses government has accused other nations of escalating the issue.
(With agency inputs)
Updated 20:01 IST, November 7th 2019