Hong Kong protests: judge says political slogans on masks, not their yellow colour necessitated removal from courtroom
- District Judge Ernest Lin said Monday decision intended to keep court from turning into ‘a venue for political disputes and tussles’
- One mask seen in the gallery that day bore the acronym ‘FDNOL’, a likely reference to the protest slogan ‘Five demands, not one less’
District Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung on Wednesday said the move was intended to prevent the court from turning into “a venue for political disputes and tussles”, adding he had taken an “impartial” approach when telling his clerk to instruct three in attendance to replace their masks.
On Monday at Wan Chai District Court, Lin heard the guilty pleas of four suspects who had taken part in an illegal assembly at a shopping centre, where three people had been assaulted by protesters.
I do not want the court to become a venue for expressing political demands, so I instructed my clerk to urge them to change their masks
Before sentencing on Wednesday, Lin said he banned the bright yellow face coverings not because their colour was associated with the anti-government movement, but because they contained expressions of a political nature.
“I saw members of the public inside the courtroom wearing yellow masks with political demands printed on them. I do not want the court to become a venue for expressing political demands, so I instructed my clerk to urge them to change their masks,” the judge said, adding the ban would allow him to focus on the legal issues before the court.
“The court’s order is not relevant to the style or colour of face masks, nor does it amount to a value judgment on the political beliefs or demands such masks embody. I am not barring any members of the public from attending court hearings because of their political or religious beliefs.”
