Campus Siege Enters a Second Day as Court Overturns Mask Ban
Judges find government’s use of emergency legislation for mask ban ‘incompatible with the Basic Law’. The court ruled in favour of a group of 24 politicians who challenged the implementation of Emergency Regulations Ordinance.
"The anti-mask law issued by the government is unconstitutional, as it “goes further than necessary” in the restriction of fundamental rights." The Court said.
However, the court said that it will decide on the question of relief at a later hearing, meaning that the ban has not yet been officially struck down.
The court also ruled that the colonial-era Emergency Regulations Ordinace (ERO), which allowed the chief executive to enact laws without legislative oversight, was partially unconstitutional. It said that the ERO, insofar as it empowers the Hong Kong leader to make laws “on any occasion of public danger,” is incompatible with the Basic Law.
Students, armed with homemade weapons, remained bunkered down on a university campus awaiting a police operation to remove them, NYT reports.
A standoff at a Hong Kong university between protesters and the police entered a second day on Monday with riot officers lobbing tear gas and firing rubber bullets at some students trying to flee the besieged campus, while others stayed bunkered inside with homemade weapons.
Hong Kong police fire rounds of tear gas at protesters trying to leave campus as reported by the Gurdian. Hundreds of people in other parts of the city have been arrested as they express support for those within the university.
Police claimed they shot teargas at the earlier attempt to leave because protesters threw petrol bombs and charged at officers.
A senior United States official has condemned the “unjustified use of force” and says they are monitoring events in Hong Kong.
At least 38 people were injured in a protracted battle at the university, Hong Kong Polytechnic, on Sunday, the city’s Hospital Authority said, after a bloody battle in which a police officer was struck by an arrow and demonstrators set a police van on fire.
A core group of students remained inside the walls awaiting an expected operation to remove them from the campus.
Protesters tried to leave the campus on Monday morning – at the request of the university’s president – but were forced back by police who fired rounds of tear gas.
Explosions and gun fire could be heard in videos posted online showing the protesters attempting to leave the area.
The tactics used by police raised fears that the authorities had no interest in de-escalating the situation, but were aiming to trap and arrest all protesters.
Dozens of people who were not involved in the siege have been arrested in the street after asking police to lift the siege, Hong Kong Free Press reported.
On Monday morning, police attempted to storm the university in Kowloon after a 24-hour battle with protesters which saw officials threaten to use live rounds. Earlier, officers fired teargas and water cannon and drove an armoured vehicle at demonstrators who threw molotov cocktails. The police said in a video statement they would use live rounds on the “rioters” if they did not stop using lethal weapons to attack officers.
As riot police moved in at dawn, protesters set fire to one of the entrances to the university and explosions could be heard. The blazes forced police to pull back.
Professor Teng Jin-guang, the president of Poly U, released a video statement on Monday saying he had negotiated a temporary suspension of the use of force with the police and urged protesters to “leave the campus in a peaceful manner”. When they did so, they were forced back by tear gas.
The Hong Kong protests began in June over legislation, since scrapped, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, and have expanded to include a broad range of demands for police accountability and greater democracy.
The tactics used by police raised fears that the authorities had no interest in de-escalating the situation, but were aiming to trap and arrest all protesters.
Dozens of people who were not involved in the siege have been arrested in the street after asking police to lift the siege, Hong Kong Free Press reported.
On Monday morning, police attempted to storm the university in Kowloon after a 24-hour battle with protesters which saw officials threaten to use live rounds. Earlier, officers fired teargas and water cannon and drove an armoured vehicle at demonstrators who threw molotov cocktails. The police said in a video statement they would use live rounds on the “rioters” if they did not stop using lethal weapons to attack officers.
As riot police moved in at dawn, protesters set fire to one of the entrances to the university and explosions could be heard. The blazes forced police to pull back.
Professor Teng Jin-guang, the president of Poly U, released a video statement on Monday saying he had negotiated a temporary suspension of the use of force with the police and urged protesters to “leave the campus in a peaceful manner”. When they did so, they were forced back by tear gas.
The Hong Kong protests began in June over legislation, since scrapped, that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, and have expanded to include a broad range of demands for police accountability and greater democracy.
Sources: NYT / The Guardian / HKFP
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