Report claims government mulling ban on public gatherings after violent clashes

Local newspaper Apple Daily reported today that the Hong Kong government is exploring the possibility of banning public assemblies in response to increasingly common clashes between anti-government protesters and police, a suggestion that the Security Bureau was quick to not-quite-deny.

The report, which cited an anonymous source, said that the government was considering invoking the chief executive’s special powers under the Public Order Ordinance to prohibit people from joining public gatherings. Article 17 of the ordinance allows for a ban on such gatherings to be put in place for up to three months if doing so is deemed “necessary for the prevention of serious public disorder.”

Organizing or taking part in a gathering in contravention of such a ban is punishable by a fine and up to three years’ imprisonment.

The idea to ban public gatherings was publicly floated on Facebook by pro-Beijing lawmaker Ann Chiang Lai-wan, who also wrote to Police Commissioner Stephen Lo to note that “conflicts between the people and the police often arose during recent protests, [and] many police and citizens were injured.”

https://www.facebook.com/chianglaiwan/posts/3483372708355192

She went on to argue that if assemblies led to “riots,” then police should prohibit them by refusing to issue organizers with so-called “letters of no objection” allowing gatherings to go ahead.

Indeed, violent confrontations between hardcore protesters and police have become increasingly common as Hong Kong’s long-running protest movement rolls on, often taking place alongside — or just after — larger peaceful demonstrations.

The Security Bureau was quick to respond to the Apple Daily report today, though the very brief statement fell short of an outright denial.

“The Government will continue to follow the existing mechanism requiring notification to the police and the Letter of No Objection,” the statement reads. “Apart from this, the Government has no other plans.”

The “mechanism” requiring notification of police and the issuance of a letter of no objection, however, is also the Public Order Ordinance, which — in addition to granting the chief executive the power to ban public gatherings outright — grants the police commissioner the right to reject applications for gatherings on “public order” grounds.