A mere four days after the much anticipated Chinese National Day on 1 October 2019 (which also marked the country’s 70th birthday) Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has invoked emergency powers to announce a face mask ban.
Hong Kong saw one of the most violent protests on the 70th anniversary of Communist rule in China and the news of an activist involved in anti-government protests in Hong Kong being shot in the chest by police during a clash quickly made headline news around the world. Even following this incident, today’s announcement that the face mask ban would come into force this Saturday, 5 October (with some exemptions to cater “for legitimate needs”) still came as a surprise.
The ban was made under the Emergency Regulation Ordinance, a colonial-era law which grants the city’s leader the power to create regulations “in the public interest” in an “emergency or public danger”. The consequences of breaking the ban include up to one year in jail and a fine of HKD 25,000 (approximately £2,584).
Since the Hong Kong protests started, Gherson have received numerous enquiries from Hong Kong residents regarding relocating to the UK. Gherson has extensive experience in UK immigration law, EU law and nationality law, and has worked with Hong Kong clients since the early 90’s. Gherson lawyers frequently travel to Mainland China and Hong Kong to meet with prospect applicants who are looking to migrate to the UK under the various UK immigration categories. Should you wish to meet with one of our lawyers during their upcoming trip to Hong Kong, or would like to schedule a telephone consultation session, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2019
Consultant solicitor