Human Chains Formed Across City To Oppose Mask Law

Thousands of people gathered all over Hong Kong on Friday evening, linking hands and covering their faces to form human chains in opposition and open defiance of a recently introduced anti-mask law.

The law was put in place on October 4, using the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance, as the administration sought to crack down on increasingly violent anti-government protests.

However, protesters have continued to wear masks during both authorised and illegal assemblies as the city’s worst crisis since the handover enters a fifth month.

On Friday evening, human chains stretched through all 18 districts, in a repeat of the “Hong Kong Way” demonstration from August 23.

One of those participating, who gave her name as Miss Chan, said this was the first time she had taken part in the ongoing anti-government protests, as she studies in Australia and was only back in Hong Kong for a short stay.

“Coming back, I think it’s sort of giving me an opportunity to participate and do something for society,” she said.

While many people wore simple surgical masks, some wore more elaborate masks that depicted Chief Executive Carrie Lam or President Xi Jinping.

There were chants of protest slogans, such as “Five demands, not one less”, and some people held up signs that said, “See you in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday” – a reference to a march planned by the Civil Human Rights Front that was banned earlier on Friday.