Hong Kong Court Reinstates Mask Ban Ahead of Elections

Hong Kong Court Reinstates Mask Ban Ahead of Elections
Protesters walk inside the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, China on Nov. 22, 2019. Most of the protesters who took over the university last week have left, but an unknown number have remained inside for days, hoping somehow to avoid arrest. Achmad Ibrahim/AP
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HONG KONG—A Hong Kong court on Nov. 22 suspended its decision to strike down a government ban on wearing face masks at protests, allowing police to enforce the decree for another week around keenly contested local elections in the city.

The court had ruled on Monday that the ban, imposed in October under rarely used emergency powers to prevent pro-democracy protesters from hiding their identity, infringed on fundamental rights more than was reasonably necessary.