Hong Kong on the first day of the Face Covering Regulation coming into effect

People were encouraged to not venture out 

today, a Saturday, in Hong Kong

Nonetheless, thousands of people felt compelled to go on 

yet another protest march in Hong Kong this afternoon

The march was blessedly peaceful -- thanks in large part to 

the police making themselves scarce for the most part

Hong Kongers learnt this morning that the MTR would stay closed for the entire day (bar for limited service on the Airport Express line between Hong Kong Station and the airport), as would many banks and shops, including every branch of the Park n Shop grocery store chain.  Further signs of it not being a normal Saturday came from the Hong Kong Jockey Club suspending all off-course betting services for the day and all 7-Eleven convenience stores closing by 5pm (if not earlier, as was the case with one of the stores in my neighborhood). 

After making my way to the restaurant in Causeway Bay that a friend had booked a table for lunch today, we found the entire building -- not just the dining establishment in question -- closed for the day.  But even while the area was unquestionably quieter and more deserted than usual, there still were a number of commercial establishments -- including opticians, jewellery shops and such along with eateries and bubble tea stalls -- that had decided to open for business and we easily found another place to have our dim sum lunch!  

Although I did receive the distinct impression that the government wanted people to stay home all day today, many people decided against doing so: some through sheer force of habit; others as a form of protest against Hong Kong turning into a de facto police state.  Other anti-government resistance came by way of a legal fight continuing to be waged against the Face Covering Regulation that Chief Executive (in name only) Carrie Lam introduced using emergency powers.  In addition, a large group of protesters -- many with some kind of face covering -- took to the streets this afternoon and marched from Causeway Bay to Central to show that they will not be cowed by one additional reason that the police would use to arrest them.

When this group first set off on their march, my initial impression was that the protesters -- for whom the enactment of the Face Covering Regulation is just one more complaint they have against the Hong Kong government -- were in danger of being outnumbered by the journalists milling about and covering their protest.  But as it moved westwards, the procession swelled as it picked up participants along the way -- so much so that what had seemed like just a group of few hundred looked much more like one which numbered in the thousands after a while.      

And while today's Hong Kong Island march initially looked to be the only public protest "game" in town, developments later in the day showed that -- rather than the MTR shut down having gotten protesters to stay at home, it actually got them to protest closer to where they lived and in more areas than otherwise would have been the case.  Thus it was that, on the other side of Victoria Harbour, protesters assembled to form a human chain and march from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sham Shui Po, and still more protesters took to the streets in Yuen Long and Wong Tai Sin.

Bar for those in Sheung Shui who vented their ire at selected businesses (which they deemed to be hubs for parallel traders and have pro-Beijing owners), the protests have been non-violent.  Consequently, many Hong Kongers really don't see why much of Hong Kong was made to shut down for the day and see the government, rather than protesters, as to blame for creating unnecessary fear and panic with their actions.  In short: the "authorities" appears to have scored yet another PR own goal today -- surprise, surprise (not)!