Hong Kong's high court rules anti-mask law unconstitutional
- 4 years ago
Amid the stand-off in Hong Kong between protesters and police, the territory's High Court has ruled that the government's recent law banning protestors from wearing masks is unconstitutional.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung reports.
Hong Kong's High Court ruled on Monday that the law which banned protesters from wearing face masks was unconstitutional.
According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post,... high court judges said the anti-mask law was "incompatible with the Basic Law",... which refers to the city's mini-constitution that came into effect after Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.
The law prohibiting protesters from covering their faces went into effect on October 5,... and gave police the power to remove the masks that protesters were wearing.
The ruling came out as 25 lawmakers had challenged the law, arguing this emergency law gives Hong Kong's executive unrestricted power to bypass parliament.
Meanwhile,... at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, currently occupied by protesters, police are trying to enter the campus and drag out the remaining students.
Overnight, the university looked more like a battlefield than a school,... as police fired tear gas and water cannons. They also used an anti-riot sound device known as Long Range Acoustic Device, which causes vomiting, great pain and dizziness when heard.
Against this, protesters set a police vehicle on fire and shot arrows from the barricaded university,... with one arrow lodging in one officer's leg.
"Although I needed to prepare for the exams, when I saw the unfairness of society, I felt I needed to stand up. Because I'm not just a Hong Kong student, I'm more of a Hong Kong citizen."
Meanwhile, Chinese soldiers stationed in Hong Kong have been spotted cleaning up Hong Kong's streets.
The presence of the mainland's People's Liberation Army has prompted concerns that Beijing may exert its force on Hong Kong sooner rather than later.
In fact, according to China's Ming Pao Newspaper, senior Chinese officials including Vice Premier Han Zheng took a visit to Guangdong Province an area close to Hong Kong and discussed the current crisis.
KIM Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung reports.
Hong Kong's High Court ruled on Monday that the law which banned protesters from wearing face masks was unconstitutional.
According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post,... high court judges said the anti-mask law was "incompatible with the Basic Law",... which refers to the city's mini-constitution that came into effect after Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.
The law prohibiting protesters from covering their faces went into effect on October 5,... and gave police the power to remove the masks that protesters were wearing.
The ruling came out as 25 lawmakers had challenged the law, arguing this emergency law gives Hong Kong's executive unrestricted power to bypass parliament.
Meanwhile,... at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, currently occupied by protesters, police are trying to enter the campus and drag out the remaining students.
Overnight, the university looked more like a battlefield than a school,... as police fired tear gas and water cannons. They also used an anti-riot sound device known as Long Range Acoustic Device, which causes vomiting, great pain and dizziness when heard.
Against this, protesters set a police vehicle on fire and shot arrows from the barricaded university,... with one arrow lodging in one officer's leg.
"Although I needed to prepare for the exams, when I saw the unfairness of society, I felt I needed to stand up. Because I'm not just a Hong Kong student, I'm more of a Hong Kong citizen."
Meanwhile, Chinese soldiers stationed in Hong Kong have been spotted cleaning up Hong Kong's streets.
The presence of the mainland's People's Liberation Army has prompted concerns that Beijing may exert its force on Hong Kong sooner rather than later.
In fact, according to China's Ming Pao Newspaper, senior Chinese officials including Vice Premier Han Zheng took a visit to Guangdong Province an area close to Hong Kong and discussed the current crisis.
KIM Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.