Sportswear exporter Dennis Chan and his friends don't use the word "protest" when messaging each about when and where they'll next meet to join the massive anti-government demonstrations that have shaken Hong Kong and faith in its future. As paranoid as that sounds, the lengths to
1 / 6Hong Kong ProtestsA masked protester sits near graffiti during a protest in Hong Kong, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that protesters are banned from wearing masks to conceal their identities in a hardening of the government's stance against the 4-month-old demonstrations.
As paranoid as that sounds, the lengths to which Hong Kong protesters go to conceal their identities are a consequence of living in the shadow of Big Brother.
Lam said the mask ban and the use of emergency powers that allow her to "make any regulations whatsoever" were necessary to curb violence and deter"radical behavior." She noted that other countries also prohibit face coverings. France voted a ban in 2010, targeting Muslim women's full-face veils. Canada since 2013 has made the wearing of identity-concealing masks at unlawful gatherings punishable by 10 years in jail.
"I think there's no border between Hong Kong and China when they want to access data," said a 48-year-old accountant who would only give his first name, Kelvin. He spoke Thursday night as reports — which proved well-founded — swirled around the city about the imminent imposition of the mask ban."I don't doubt that there's data interchange every day."
He said a friend who works in insurance was picked up on a business trip to Shanghai and held for two weeks by Chinese authorities who identified him as a protester.
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