The newly imposed anti-mask law in Hong Kong has been instrumental in quelling the prolonged unrest, said Elsie Leung, former secretary for justice of the HKSAR government.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Leung said the ban had deterred radicals from committing crimes and prompted parents and teachers to ring a warning bell for the youth and prevent them from being radicalized.
"The Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation has achieved positive results and played an important role in stopping violence and unrest," she said, urging the public to draw a clear line with violent mobsters.
The HKSAR government put an anti-mask law into effect on Oct. 5 in an effort to deflate the months-long unrest, in which many rioters used masks to conceal identities as they set fires, damaged property and assaulted police and other residents.
Police said 90 people have been arrested for violating the anti-mask law as of Oct. 9.
Responding to accusations of the police abusing the law to make random arrests, Leung defended the police's professional and rational enforcement of the law.
"Each time, the arrests were made after violent and destructive acts had been committed. The use of force is necessary and appropriate in police actions, and is not abuse of power," she said.
The former justice secretary also said the regulation, with exemptions on mask use for safety, professional and other reasonable excuses, did not curtail the legal rights of Hong Kong residents.
In contrast, radical protesters, who firebombed metro stations in operation, beat and doxxed residents who hold different views from them, seriously infringed on the human rights of others, she said.
