INTRODUCTION

Hong Kong’s embattled government has announced plans to ban people from wearing masks at public assemblies, as it struggles to control the increasingly violent civil unrest gripping the city.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s administration, under mounting pressure from its political allies to put a stop to nearly four months of anti-government protests, imposed the ban on Friday through legislation by invoking a tough, colonial-era emergency law that has not been used in more than half a century.

Lam says she did not seek approval from Beijing to implement the law during her recent trip for the National Day celebrations and says legislation is a step towards resolving the situation and restoring stability to Hong Kong.

Since the announcement, people have taken to the streets blocking roads in Central and Kowloon Tong.