“The restrictions it imposes on fundamental rights... go further than is reasonably necessary... and therefore fail to meet the proportionality test, ” the court said yesterday.The ban on face-covering came into force in October, when the city’s unelected pro-Beijing leader invoked colonial-era legislation for the first time in more than 50 years.
The move was seen as a watershed legal moment for the city since its 1997 return by Britain to China, but has been largely symbolic. Demonstrators – most of them wearing masks – have continued to clash with police, often violently, as they press their demands for greater democracy for Hong Kong. — AFP