Hong Kong democracy protesters arrested for defying a new face mask ban appeared in court on Monday following a violent weekend of unrest which saw bloody clashes with police and widespread vandalism that crippled the city's train network.

The international finance hub convulsed with three straight days of rallies and riots after the city's pro-Beijing leader invoked colonial-era emergency powers to ban face coverings at protests.

Chief executive Carrie Lam said the measure was needed to try and quash four months of huge and increasingly violent pro-democracy rallies.

But the ban did little to halt the chaos or stop huge crowds of masked protesters from hitting the streets in defiance as opponents decried the move as a slide towards authoritarianism.

On Monday morning a male university student and a 38-year-old woman were the first two people to be charged with illegally wearing a mask as supporters packed the courtroom, many wearing face coverings.

They were both charged with unlawful assembly, which carries up to three-years jail time, and with defying the mask ban, which has a maximum one year sentence. Both were released on bail.

Outside the court demonstrators queued to get in, some chanting slogans such as "Wearing a face mask isn't a crime" and "The law is unjust".

Many said they feared the mask ban was just the first of more emergency orders to come.

"It's an excuse to just introduce other totalitarian laws, next is martial law," one protester outside the court, who gave his surname Lo, told AFP.

- Intense week of rage -

On the mainland, Beijing flexed its muscles by pulling a top US basketball team's games from state broadcaster CCTV after its manager posted a tweet featuring the message "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong".

Houston Rockets boss Daryl Morey attempted to calm the water with a string of emollient tweets and the NBA tried to distance itself from the comments.

But CCTV said it was "strongly opposed" to Morey's "improper remarks" and would no longer air Rockets games.

Hong Kong has been battered by 18 consecutive weekends of unrest, fanned by widespread public anger over Chinese rule and the police response to protests.

The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of liberties promised under the 50-year "one country, two systems" model China agreed to ahead of the 1997 handover by Britain.

After Beijing and local leaders took a hard stance, the demonstrations snowballed into a wider movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police accountability.

Lam has refused major concessions, but struggled to come up with any political solution.

The last week has seen a particularly intense period of protest.

The worst clashes to date erupted on Tuesday as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule, with a teenager shot and wounded by police as he attacked an officer.

On Friday, Lam announced the face mask ban, sparking renewed protests in which a 14-year-old boy was shot and wounded when a plainclothes police officer, who was surrounded by a mob of protesters throwing petrol bombs, fired his sidearm.

Throughout the weekend largely peaceful flash mob rallies and marches featuring people wearing masks broke out across the city.

But more hardcore protesters went on the rampage, trashing multiple subway stations, ransacking government offices and trashing businesses with mainland ties such as Chinese banks.

- Taxi driver beaten, PLA warning -

Sunday witnessed the largest protests, with police firing tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of people marching on the main island. Clashes broke out at multiple other locations throughout the day.

In one incident, a taxi driver was beaten bloody in the district of Sham Shui Po after he drove into a crowd that had surrounded his car, pinning a wounded woman between his vehicle and a shop.

A warning flag was even raised on the roof of a People's Liberation Army barracks after protesters shone laser pens at the building, the first time Chinese troops in the city have made such a move.

The city's subway system -- which carries up to four million people a day -- has been largely out of action since Friday night with only a small number of stations open and a limited number of lines running.

Many major supermarket and convenience store chains closed down or operated limited hours, sparking panic buying and long lines.

Lam, who has record low approval ratings, defended her use of the emergency powers and warned she would make more measures if the unrest did not abate.

The law, last used by the British during riots in 1967, allows her to bypass parliament and make "any regulations whatsoever" during a time of public danger.

But opponents say the law has sparked a constitutional crisis and undermined Hong Kong's reputation as a finance hub built on rule of law and an independent judiciary.

Hong Kong lashed by fresh violence as thousands defy mask ban
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 6, 2019 - Hong Kong was rocked by fresh violence Sunday as tens of thousands hit the streets to defy a ban on face masks, sparking clashes with police, street fights and vandalism across the strife-torn city.

Large crowds marched through torrential rain in peaceful but unsanctioned rallies on both sides of Victoria Harbour, condemning the government for deploying emergency powers to ban face masks at public gatherings.

But violence erupted as police dispersed crowds with tear gas, and then battled hardcore protesters in multiple locations -- plunging the finance hub into chaos once more.

In one incident, a taxi driver was beaten bloody in the district of Sham Shui Po after he drove into a crowd that had surrounded his car.

"Two girls were hit by the car and one girl was trapped between the car and a shop," a witness, who gave his surname as Wong, told AFP, adding the crowd managed to push the car off the wounded woman.

An AFP photographer saw volunteer medics treating both the driver and the injured women before paramedics and police arrived. Protesters smashed up the taxi.

Earlier, a crowd ransacked nearby government offices, while multiple Chinese banks and subway stations were vandalised across the city.

Hospital authorities said three people had been admitted in serious condition.

In the evening, a yellow warning flag was raised on the roof of a People's Liberation Army barracks after protesters shone laser pens at the building, RTHK news reported.

Hong Kong police use similar colour-coded flags to warn people to disperse.

- Court battle -

Activists have staged three straight days of flashmob rallies and sprees of vandalism after Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam outlawed face coverings by protesters, invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.

Pro-democracy lawmakers went to the High Court Sunday morning seeking an injunction against the ban, arguing the emergency powers bypassed the legislature and contravened the city's mini-constitution.

But a senior judge dismissed their case.

The law allows Lam -- who has record-low approval ratings -- to make "any regulations whatsoever" during a time of public danger.

She warned she would use the powers to introduce new regulations if the unrest did not abate.

The ban was welcomed by government supporters and Beijing, but opponents and protesters saw it as the start of a slippery slope, tipping the international finance hub into authoritarianism.

It has done little to calm tensions or stop crowds coming out so far.

"If Carrie Lam wants to de-escalate the situation, this is not the right way," a 19-year-old protester, who gave his first name as Corey, told AFP as he marched under a forest of umbrellas on the main island.

- Two teen protesters shot -

Hong Kong has been battered by 18 consecutive weekends of unrest, fanned by widespread public anger over Chinese rule and the police response to protests.

The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to the mainland, which fuelled fears of an erosion of liberties promised under the 50-year "one country, two systems" model China agreed to ahead of the 1997 handover by Britain.

After Beijing and local leaders took a hard stance, the demonstrations snowballed into a wider movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police accountability.

Lam has refused major concessions, but struggled to come up with any political solution.

The worst clashes to date erupted on Tuesday as China celebrated 70 years of Communist Party rule, with a teenager shot and wounded by police as he attacked an officer.

A 14-year-old boy was shot and wounded Friday when a plainclothes police officer, who was surrounded by a mob of protesters throwing petrol bombs, fired his sidearm.

- Much of subway shuttered -

The city's subway system -- which carries four million people daily -- was shut down entirely Friday night and throughout Saturday, bringing much of the metropolis to a halt.

Major supermarket chains and malls announced they were closing, leading to long lines and panic buying.

On Sunday, more than half the stations remained shuttered, many of them in the heart of the city's main tourist districts.

Some lines were later closed entirely as Sunday's violence worsened.

Lam has defended her use of the emergency powers.

"We cannot allow rioters any more to destroy our treasured Hong Kong," she said in a stony-faced video statement on Saturday.

But opposition lawmakers said the use of the law had deepened the crisis.

"I would say this is one of the most important constitutional cases in the history of Hong Kong," lawmaker Dennis Kwok told reporters before Sunday's ruling.

Protester demands include an independent inquiry into the police, an amnesty for the more than 2,000 people arrested and universal suffrage -- all requests rejected by Lam and Beijing.

Violence reaches a once peaceful Hong Kong suburb
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 5, 2019 - In one peaceful community previously untouched by the months of unrest that have shaken Hong Kong, it was an unexpected sight: the methodical ransacking of the local subway station over a three-hour period.

Clashes raged in multiple locations throughout the former British colony on Friday night after Hong Kong's leader invoked colonial-era emergency powers to ban pro-democracy protesters wearing face masks.

Police used tear gas to disperse protesters who had taken over roads, vandalised subway stations, set street fires and trashed pro-China businesses -- testing again the capacity of the city's law enforcement, who many accuse of using excessive force.

Around 8:30 pm on Friday, it was the turn of Tseung Kwan O, which sits across a bay from the main island of Hong Kong.

For three hours, not one police officer was visible in the district, which is popular with Westerners.

- 'Like a queen' -

The demonstrators had all the time in the world to ransack the local station run by the MTR Corp, the company operating the city's underground rail system, which the protesters accuse of siding with the pro-Beijing government.

"MTR supports the government by closing stations on purpose to prevent demonstrators moving around," said one student, 19, who identified himself only as JC.

"But they help transport the police," he said, as rail services were suspended throughout the semi-autonomous territory's network.

"Banning masks doesn't change anything," added JC, hiding his own face -- like other protesters -- to avoid being identified for prosecution.

Tape covers his fingertips so he leaves no prints.

"The main problem is that she goes through the law without the LegCo," JC continued, referring to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam who was appointed by an overwhelmingly Beijing-friendly committee.

Under sweeping powers unveiled on Friday, Lam does not need the approval of the city's legislature, known as LegCo, to introduce laws.

"She's like a queen now," JC said.

As in many of Hong Kong's New Towns, the subway station is the nerve centre of local life.

Graffiti at the entrance read: "Communist railway".

Inside, fire hoses were unwound and water flowed down escalators leading to train platforms.

The sprinklers were activated too, and the floor flooded as loudspeakers blared an automated message about the "emergency," telling people to leave immediately.

Outside, armed with metal barriers, protesters systematically broke each pane of glass along a 200-metre (600-foot) facade.

- 'Upping our game' -

"What happened wasn't planned," Nathalie, a 32-year-old worker, said enthusiastically, hailing the movement's ability to mobilise through social networks.

"That's the most impressive part of the movement. Everything was triggered by the press conference" at which Lam announced the mask ban, Nathalie adds.

"The government doesn't listen to us. So we are upping our game."

By 11:30 pm, six vans arrived near an intersection beside the MTR station where hundreds of protesters had erected small makeshift barricades.

About 20 riot police finally appeared. The protesters pulled back and JC changed from his black jacket -- the colour of clothing favoured by protesters -- into something in a less conspicuous shade.

Then he melted away.

A shirtless man, cigarette in his mouth and beer in hand, walked to the middle of the junction to challenge the officers, much to the approval of the demonstrators.

Then he backed down.

By 11:45 pm, more than three hours after it all began, the police got back in their vans and headed off.

Protesters let out cries of joy, then very quickly dispersed, leaving the residents of Tseung Kwan O to pick up the pieces.

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Hong Kong protesters embrace 'V for Vendetta' Guy Fawkes masks
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 2, 2019
As Hong Kong raged with the worst political violence so far this summer, many of those hitting the streets adopted a new symbol - smiling Guy Fawkes masks. The face coverings, made popular by the comic book and film "V for Vendetta", have been embraced by multiple protest movements in recent years, particularly Anonymous hactivists and Occupy Wall Street. But until recently they had not made much of an appearance at the huge pro-democracy demonstrations currently battering Hong Kong. That c ... read more