Local Bar Owners Warn Against Curfew Plans

Local bars and clubs warned against moves for imposing curfew in some areas, saying their businesses have already dropped an average of 30 percent since August.

“I think the curfew order is a very, very bad idea. It cannot make Hong Kong better. This thing will only make all businesses go to die because for the bar business, the business hour starts from 6 or 7 pm," said Chin Chun-wing, vice-chairman of the The Hong Kong Bar and Club Association.

"If you have this order, all the bars will close at 7 o’clock. So that means we won’t have any business. So we will be dead”, Chin warned.

The association said their members have lost almost HK$200 million because of the ongoing anti-government protests.

It said many of the SAR's 1,300 or so bars are struggling as they often have to close because of tear gas or transport problems like train closures.

It said the figure for pubs in districts where protests are common could be down by almost 50 percent.

Chin said he's worried that things will get go from bad to worse if the government doesn't respond to the demands of the protesters.

He also warned against some groups’ suggestion to bring in a curfew, saying that would simply kill off businesses.