Hong Kong police to deploy 2,000 officers amid jitters over ‘black mask’ rally outside Beijing’s liaison office

Jitters over security prompted by a separatist call for a “black-mask protest’’ outside Beijing’s headquarters in Hong Kong will see more than 2,000 police deployed on Friday as the city marks the 19th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty.

As many as 100,000 people are expected to take part in the annual July 1 march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front – an umbrella group of pro-democracy organisations.

However, as political tensions continue to simmer in the wake of 2014’s Occupy protests and violent disturbances in Mong Kok earlier this year, police concerns are focused on a planned protest by so-called “localists” – a small but vociferous assortment of people who advocate varying degrees of political independence for Hong Kong — outside Beijing’s liaison office in Western.

Police called on protest organisers, who have called on people to wear black masks and clothing, to contact them as soon as possible, warning police “will take swift action” against anyone who threatens public order.

Localist groups are shunning the traditional – much bigger – July 1 march, the theme of which will be a call for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to step down, trashing it as a symbolic, ritualistic waste of time.