The Remasking of Hong Kong

Illustration by Drew Andersen

In October 2019, a face mask ban was enacted by Hong Kong’s authorities without legislative approval, authorities in Hong Kong who reflect the interests of mainland China’s government. These emergency measures were designed to intimidate the pro-democracy activists demonstrating daily in the Hong Kong street in often violent clashes with riot police.

“Mask ban is totally for the police to arrest and identify protesters,” said Doong Hoi Lam, a 24-year-old biology major from Hong Kong University, with friends at Santa Monica College. “I think people are getting more angry about it, and more people are joining the protest force, even some people who were indifferent to it. People are not getting afraid of the ban.”

Pro-democracy demonstrators wear masks in part to hide their identity from facial recognition software linked to cameras installed around the city and in part, to reduce exposure to contaminants like drifting clouds of tear gas.

Now with the outbreak of the Wuhan-based coronavirus epidemic, few in Hong Kong appear in public without a mask. At the time of the Chinese New Year on Jan. 25, the most common masks are the blue masks, which were readily available in drug stores. With the coronavirus identified as a highly contagious and fatal respiratory disease spreading fast throughout mainland China, the demand for masks has outgrown supply. By Feb. 12, Hong Kong citizens by the thousands lined up at local pharmacies, waiting for hours to purchase a variety of masks that may be available over the counter.

The threat of coronavirus takes place as strife in Hong Kong between riot police and pro-democracy demonstrators has subsided temporarily. Hong Kong remains semi-autonomous, and tension with the mainland is very strong. The coronavirus epidemic adds a larger threat to Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million people, despite Hong Kong's modern healthcare system.

Today’s Wuhan-originated coronavirus has killed over 2500 in two short months. The number reported infected and dropping dead during the epidemic is growing by both the World Health Organization’s verification and Beijing's own admission.

Taiwan sealed its borders with mainland China within days of the outbreak of coronavirus. Flights in and out of Hong Kong have dropped 90 percent. Oversea air travel in China is almost at a standstill.

Hong Kongers are resilient and have shown incredible ingenuity in the face of the crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrations, and now an epidemic, one that may spiral out of control as a worldwide pandemic. When the mask supply began to run out in Hong Kong, some creative citizens began posting instructional videos about how to make face masks using toilet paper.

Within a week, stores in Hong Kong reported shelves empty of toilet paper. The question remains, can one save face and their butt at the same time?