Hong Kong Bans Face Masks At Public Assemblies

Hong Kong's embattled chief executive, Carrie Lam, says she is invoking emergency powers to ban face masks during public assemblies starting at midnight Friday (12 p.m. ET).
The ban on face masks is an attempt to quell increasingly violent anti-government protests that have racked the city for more than 17 weeks.
"One thing is certain. If lawbreakers are not wearing masks, it is much easier for us to prove the charges and bring them to courts," said Hong Kong's security secretary, John Lee Ka-chiu, at a last-minute news conference held to announce the ban in Hong Kong.
Those who violate the ban face a year in prison or a fine of up to 25,000 Hong Kong dollars, or about $3,200. Face paint will also be prohibited.
The colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinance gives Lam broad powers to undertake security measures in times of public danger or emergency, such as censoring communications or raiding homes without a warrant. This is the first time the ordinance has been used in more than half-a-century; the last time was in 1967, during labor disputes and anti-government protests under British rule.