Watch: Demonstrators defy face mask ban on Halloween in fresh protests in Hong Kong
Protesters gathered at Prince Edward Station to mark two months of the ‘831 incident’.
The best way to celebrate Halloween.
— Joshua Potash 🆘 (@JoshuaPotash) November 1, 2019
Hong Kong banned masks.
So the thousands of people came out to protest wearing Halloween masks today.
pic.twitter.com/ICVMytDgWJ
Halloween protests in Hong Kong were met with tear gas and pepper spray as demonstrators flouted the no-mask rule, Hong Kong Free Press reported. Some reports also suggested that Halloween revellers were mixed with the protesters, causing chaos.
#HongKong protesters defy ‘mask ban’ to mark #Halloween pic.twitter.com/zxB9iapAQT
— RT (@RT_com) October 31, 2019
Services at some stations of the MTR rapid transit system in Hong Kong were also affected.
Police set up cordon lines at various junctions in Mong Kok and have sealed off a bridge pic.twitter.com/LEsNpxrtdZ
— Chris Lau (@hkchrislau) October 31, 2019
Protester gathered at the Prince Edward Station to mark two months of the “831 incident”. On August 31, Hong Kong riot police had stormed the station, assaulting and injuring passengers. It was believed that the incident resulted in some casualties, but MTR has not released complete CCTV footage from the night despite being asked several times.
Many videos of the police firing tear gas shells and using pepper spray to disperse the crowd surfaced on the internet. In one particular video, a police officer is seen macing a man point-blank.
A man was sprayed with pepper spray point blank after asking where police's cordon line was pic.twitter.com/9sOQhzJdqB
— Chris Lau (@hkchrislau) October 31, 2019
Protesters also started fires in the street that were later put out by firefighters.
Fire fighters have arrived to put out the fire pic.twitter.com/MDSRTZOGIm
— Chris Lau (@hkchrislau) October 31, 2019