Hong Kong to ban face masks by invoking emergency powers - report

Hong Kong authorities are set to announce a ban on face masks at public gatherings by invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, a local news channel TVB reported on Thursday. Protesters in the semi-autonomous region of China have used black face masks to protect their identities since the protests began in May.

The former British colony has been rocked by months of protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial, but have evolved into calls for democracy, among other demands. The opposition to the Beijing-backed government has plunged the city into its biggest political crisis in decades.

Protesters are also angry about what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in their city's affairs despite a promise of autonomy in the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong returned to China in 1997. China dismisses accusations it is meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up the anti-China sentiment.