Chinese authorities find innovative ways to control Hong Kong protests

NEW DELHI: China has found an innovative way of preventing further protests in Hong Kong by restricting entry of yellow umbrellas and helmets in the city.

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN)recently reported that, according to various unverified sources and online communications, Chinese Customs ordered several shipping companies for online shopping sites to stop carrying yellow helmets, yellow umbrellas, flags, flagpoles, and banners (along with other demonstration supplies) that had Hong Kong as their destination.

The ban took effect on July 11. This appears to be a new mechanism that the Mainland government came up with to undermine the on-going protests that the Hong Kong residents carried out. Even loud speakers and masks were banned. The Customs notification to the shipping companies used a very strong tone and warned that an “extremely serious punishment” may follow any violation.


This news triggered a major wave of discussions in the online Chinese communities outside China. Many netizens suggested sending the goods to Taiwan first and then they could be shipped to Hong Kong. According to Hong Kong Economic Daily, the Chinese Customs actually issued the initial notification on June 27. However, the latest notification sounded more serious.