- Title: Gas masks and hard hats: Hong Kong hardware store capitalises on protests
- Date: 11th October 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) SHOP OWNER KEITA LEE ENTERING THE NATIONAL CALAMITY HARDWARE STORE VARIOUS OF LEE SORTING GAS MASK FILTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SHOP OWNER KEITA LEE, SAYING: "This one is the large size. This one is the small size." LEE HOLDING UP GAS MASKS (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SHOP OWNER KEITA LEE, SAYING: "Under this situation of severe police abuse of powers, there are certainly a lot of actions (they're taking) against supply stations. They (the police) have previously gone after them at the protests, without having any kind of legal basis." HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 29, 2019) (REUTERS) POLICE FIRING TEAR GAS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MOVING BACKWARDS AND RUNNING VARIOUS OF POLICE ARRIVING AND MAKING ARREST HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SHOP OWNER KEITA LEE, SAYING: "This one is the most popular one. We sell a lot of it." LEE HOLDING UP GAS MASK FILTER (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SHOP OWNER KEITA LEE, SAYING: "Apart from this one, the 620 mask, we sell the most of this."
- Embargoed: 25th October 2019 04:52
- Keywords: Hong Kong protest gear hardware store police arrests
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0NI2IV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: While months of anti-government protests have taken a toll on businesses across Hong Kong, from luxury retailers and hotels to shops and restaurants, Keita Lee's pop-up stall is thriving.
Part-entrepreneur, part-activist, Lee, 33, has been running a pop-up "National Calamity Hardware Store" selling protest essentials: hard hats, gas masks and goggles near rally hotspots.
He has taken out short-term leases on vacant storefronts in at least four districts, battling constant police harassment and hostile landlords.
Most weekends, black-clad protesters throng the streets in gas masks, hard hats and goggles to face off with the police tasked with dispersing them.
Hong Kong's government invoked colonial-era emergency laws this month, including a ban on face masks, which have been widely used by protesters to hide their identities.
Yet protective equipment has become increasingly hard to find in the city. The Chinese government has restricted sales and exports of safety equipment into Hong Kong, making Lee even more determined to keep his business going despite the risks.
Lee says his stall has been a constant target of the police. He has been arrested twice, in August and September, for running such stalls. The police said in a statement to Reuters that a 33-year-old surnamed Lee, and five others, had been arrested on September 30 on a number of charges including possessing offensive weapons and inciting and taking part in unauthorised assemblies. They have since been released on bail. Lee denies such charges.
Since then, Lee says it has been a real challenge to find new suppliers from Southeast Asia, Taiwan and America.
"I never thought of this as providing aid for people. I just run a shop, where I do business. I never ask those who buy the products about what they are going to use them for. Any kind of person can run a shop," Lee said.
Previously a frontline protester, Lee said he understands the determination of young activists and often offers discounts to those who can't afford to pay.
(Production: Aleks Solum, Joseph Campbell) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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