A teenager who was shot by the Hong Kong police on Tuesday has been charged with rioting and assault as the city reels from this week’s heightened aggression. The city is also expected to ban face masks under a colonial-era emergency law that has not been used in half a century, media reported. Many people taking part in the protests wear face masks to hide their identities and shield themselves from tear gas, meaning the ban on masks could have a deterring effect on demonstrations. It came as the city loosened guidelines on the use of force by police as it struggles to stamp out anti-government protests that have rocked the Asian financial hub for nearly four months, according to documents seen by Reuters. The loosening of restrictions on the use of force came into effect shortly before some of the most violent turmoil seen in the protests on Tuesday, with police firing about 1,400 rounds of tear gas, 900 rubber bullets and six live rounds, as protesters threw petrol bombs and wielded sticks. The charges against the 18-year-old protester are likely to inflame tensions further in a city already reeling that an officer from the once publicly feted Hong Kong police force fired a live shot at close range. Taxis drive down a road occupied by protesters in the Causeway Bay district on Wednesday night Credit: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg The protester was armed only with a makeshift shield made from what appeared to be a boogie board, and a white pole. Rioting is considered a serious offence in Hong Kong, punishable by up to ten years in prison. The case was immediately heard in the Sha Tin court on Thursday afternoon where Mr Tsang, 18, who is still critical in hospital, was represented by his lawyer. Hundreds of students gathered outside in a show of support. The teenager took a bullet to the upper left-hand side of his body after a violent confrontation between protesters and riot officers in the Tsuen Wan district during the widespread chaos that broke out on China’s National Day. Stephen Lo, the Hong Kong police commissioner, was quick to defend the officer’s actions, saying that he feared for his life. “The police officers had given warnings but to no avail. The police officers’ lives were seriously endangered and were forced to use a firearm to stop the violent attacks,” he told a press conference. “The approach was reasonable and lawful.” Pro-democracy protests have been raging in Hong Kong for four months Credit: Kin Cheung/AP Viral footage which was filmed at multiple angles by journalists at the scene shows a group of demonstrators with bars and umbrellas fighting with outnumbered police officers. An officer runs in to back up his colleagues with his handgun already drawn. As Mr Tsang swings his pole a shot rings out and he slowly staggers backwards to the ground. A friend who rushes to help is tackled by another officer and a group of protesters throw a petrol bomb, landing at the feet of the riot police. The teenager, who later underwent surgery, suffered the first injury from live ammunition in four months of escalating political unrest. It is not clear from the footage why the officer did not reach for non-lethal protection, including pepper spray. According to police, 1,400 rounds of tear gas were fired on Tuesday, along with 900 rubber bullets and six live rounds. But it is the single gunshot injury which has stunned a city now increasingly used to clouds of teargas on in its main shopping and residential districts, and the incident threatens to further widen the gulf of mistrust that already exists between large sectors of the public and the police. The pro-democracy camp has insisted that this shooting, and the firing of a non-lethal projectile at an Indonesian journalist which blinded her right eye, are egregious examples of the excessive force increasingly being deployed by the police. Some protesters have begun to add a sixth entry to their list of demands – disband the police force. The police, who have been deployed to tackle the crisis in the absence of a political solution, have in turn urged the government to issue curfew orders or adopt measures under a tough colonial-era emergency law to empower their thinly stretched force. At least 30 officers were injured during Tuesday’s street violence. Protesters have rallied to support the teenager who was shot Credit: Athit Perawongmetha/AFP The Junior Police Officers’ Association (JPOA) complained this week that Carrie Lam, the city’s embattled leader, had left them alone, with no concrete solutions, reported the South China Morning Post. Lam Chi-wai, the JPOA chairman, said the government had failed to do its part while police were fighting a “war” on the streets and enduring attacks, bullying and a smear campaign. “We are only an enforcement agency with limited power under the law. In the face of such a massive series of rioting incidents, we cannot work alone without appropriate measures and support from the top level,” he said in the statement. The authorities may decide at a special meeting on Friday to use their emergency ordinance powers for the first time in more than a half a century in order to ban face masks at public gatherings, local news channel TVB reported. The use of a law first passed by the British government in 1922 to quell a seamen’s strike in Hong Kong harbour, would mark a dramatic escalation by Ms Lam’s government, and risks a fresh wave of international condemnation and pushback from demonstrators. Protest leaders have previously denounced invoking of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance as a form of martial law which would give the government greater leeway to arrest citizens, censor publications, shut off communications and conduct searches without warrants.
